Jump To:

• rose water
  rose water

  noun

  water tinctured with the essential oil of roses, used as a perfume and in cooking.
• rose-water
  rose-water

  adjective

  having the aroma or fragrance of rose water.

rose water

¹ American  

[rohz-waw-ter, ‐-wot-er] / ˈroʊzˌwɔ tər, ‐ˌwɒt ər /

Or rosewater

noun

1. water tinctured with the essential oil of roses, used as a perfume and in cooking.

---

rose-water ² American  

[rohz-waw-ter, -wot-er] / ˈroʊzˌwɔ tər, -ˌwɒt ər /

adjective

1. having the aroma or fragrance of rose water.

2. affectedly delicate, nice, or fine; sentimental.

   a Victorian novelist with a genteel, rose-water style.

---

rose-water British  

noun

1. 1. scented water used as a perfume and in cooking, made by the distillation of rose petals or by impregnation with oil of roses

   2. ( as modifier )

      rose-water scent

2. (modifier) elegant or delicate, esp excessively so

---

Etymology

Origin of rose water¹

First recorded in 1350–1400

Origin of rose-water²

First recorded in 1655–65

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rose water rose-water

Before you leave, order a coffee — flavors like rose water, pistachio, and orange blossom tahini offer a refreshing finish to the meal.

From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026

It’s like a rose water and cardamom flavor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2025

So Mr Jain decided to turn his roses into rose water and rose oil.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2023

Malabi is rose water milk pudding — delicate in flavor, firm but creamy, not too sweet — most often topped with a simple berry sauce and chopped pistachios.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 24, 2023

He sipped some rose water before asking, "You know the tale of how I found the flower of immortality in a cave at the bottom of the endless ocean?"

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

Take a third of a pound of sugar, dissolve it with half an ounce of rose-water on a quiet fire, then take it up.

From Slate ● Nov. 16, 2011

Certainly one not of the rose-water or treacle kind.

From Life Without and Life Within or, Reviews, Narratives, Essays, and poems. by Margaret Fuller

"I beg you will not talk such nursery-maid's nonsense to me, May," returned her aunt, sprinkling some rose-water on her pocket-handkerchief, and dabbing her wet cheeks with it.

From That Unfortunate Marriage, Vol. 3 by Frances Eleanor Trollope

Mix a pint of milk with a cupful of cream, a heaping tablespoonful of ground rice, two tablespoonfuls of rose-water, and half a cupful of sugar.

From The Myrtle Reed Cook Book by Myrtle Reed

The merchant’s wife had asked her if she could not bring some roses for rose-water and conserve, and if she had to hawk them about in the sun they would be fit for nothing.

From In the Days of the Guild by Louise Lamprey