v. 1
To travel over (an area, etc); to roam, wander.
v. 2
To rove over or through.
n. 1
An area for military training or equipment testing.
n. 2
The distance from a person or sensor to an object, target, emanation, or event.
We could see the ship at a range of five miles.

Related words

Word family: rangeland rangy
Phrases: shooting range range hood range pole mountain range product range firing range target range gun range

Forms

Plural: ranges → scopes, reaches, compasses, breadths…
Past participle: ranged
e.g. ranged → ordered, coursed, rated, sorted…

Choose the right word

Range, Roam, Rove or Ranges?

Range, roam, and rove imply the traversing of considerable, often of vast, distances of land or sea; range commonly implies a purpose; as, cattle range for food; a hunting-dog ranges a field for game.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

cast The bribery scandal cast doubts on the government.
live More people live in the northern part of the city.
grow "I will grow many trees here", he said to himself.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
range		falling
cast		steady
straggle		steady
live		rising
grow		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

2 letters: go¹
3 letters: run¹, lie¹, row¹, ken¹, hob¹
4 letters: live¹, line¹, kind¹, room¹, view¹, rate¹, sort¹, base¹, grow¹, cast¹, roll¹, file¹, rank¹, tier¹
5 letters: place¹, order², class¹, field¹, reach¹, image², grade¹, chain¹, pitch¹, scope¹, swing¹, array², sweep¹, orbit²
6 letters: course¹, series², choice¹, travel², degree², extent², extend², radius³, wander², browse¹, stroll¹, ramble²
7 letters: freedom², stretch¹, arrange², compass², dispose², breadth¹, pasture²
8 letters: distance², register³, marshall², latitude³, classify³, vagabond³, straddle², diapason, straggle²
9 letters: amplitude³

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (order² = 2 syllables).