From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishroverove /rəʊv $ roʊv/ verb 1 TRAVEL[intransitive, transitive] written to travel from one place to another SYN roam a salesman roving the country2 → roving reporter3 LOOK AT[intransitive] if someone’s eyes rove, they look continuously from one part of something to anotherrove over/around Benedict’s eyes roved boldly over her sleeping body.4 → have a roving eye→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
rove• But by now he was less than happy with his wife Sara Fricker, and his eye was roving.• She remained the faithful wife but Richard certainly appears to have had the licence to rove.• Restless cars and people, mostly young, roved aimlessly, exploring the summer night.• He refused to be awed by Rome when he visited the Eternal City in 1926 as roving ambassador-at-large.• His eyes roved boldly over her sleeping body.• Benedict's eyes roved over her sleeping body.• It was in her desperate kisses, the way she clutched at him, her hands roving possessively, staking out claims.• Bands of armed men rove the countryside.rove over/around• His hands roved around her body.• For one interminable moment nothing moved except for the eyes of the policemen as they roved around the pub.Origin rove (1500-1600) Perhaps from rave “to wander” ((14-19 centuries)), probably from a Scandinavian language 