First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English rose mary (by folk etymology, influenced by rose 1 and the name Mary ), from Latin rōs “dew” + marīnus “marine,” or rōs maris “dew of the sea” (in English the final -s mistaken for plural sign)
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In a large bowl, combine the broken Ritz crackers, Parmesan, fennel seed, rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and red pepper flakes, if using.
From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2026
He grows about 60 different crops, including herbs such as rosemary and thyme, heirloom tomatoes and cucumbers, and pick-your-own strawberries and flowers.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026
I joyfully practice “urban foraging,” picking blackberries in the Presidio, collecting rosemary and ginkgo nuts under street trees, harvesting apples at the invitation of the trees’ vacationing owners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
Options already exist for fixing dyes without lead, including natural mordants derived from plants rich in tannins, such as oak bark, pomegranate peel and rosemary, as well as alum, which is considered environmentally safe.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 2, 2026
Biddy was lying on her fat stomach, wiggling her fingers at a patch of rosemary and singing.
From "Girls Like Us" by Gail Giles
Fedorenko's group found a way around that obstacle by working with Rosemary Varley, a neuroscientist at University College London who studies acquired language disorders, and her team.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
Rosemary recalls once catching him looking into a hand mirror.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
“My grandfather was a gardener. She would tell cute little stories about him,” said Rosemary Madera, Cenovia’s daughter, who traveled to the event from Montana.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
When prosecuting barrister Rosemary Walsh KC got to her feet, it was time for Donaldson to face tougher lines of questioning.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
We played tennis and checkers and I lent her the Bobbsey Twins and she lent me the Rosemary books.
From "Homesick" by Jean Fritz
While the new inhabitants are twisting their ropes on the rosemaries in the enclosure, one evening, by the last gleams of twilight, I discover a splendid Spider, with a mighty belly, just outside my door.
From The Life of the Spider by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos
I rear some young Philanthus-grubs, already waxing large; but, instead of supplying them with the prey taken from the burrows, I give them game of my own catching, game replete with nectar from the rosemaries.
From More Hunting Wasps by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos
One half remained in my study, under a wire-gauze cover, with, small bunches of brushwood as supports; the other half were experiencing the vicissitudes of open-air life on the rosemaries in the enclosure.
From The Life of the Spider by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos
When exposed to the full force of the sun, however, on the rosemaries in the enclosure, the balloons burst and shoot forth a ruddy flood of floss and tiny animals.
From The Life of the Spider by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos
We inspect the stunted rosemaries along the edge of a path sheltered by a rocky, wooded slope; we lift the branches that spread over the ground.
From The Life of the Spider by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
