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• 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.

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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.

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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

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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

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

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2023

In another scene, they dab Mama’s rose water on their wrists and imagine “that this is what Cleopatra or Nefertiti must have smelled like.”

From New York Times ● Jun. 6, 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

Revolutions are not to be made with rose-water; you cannot have omelettes without breaking of eggs.

From George Sand by Justin M'Carthy

They also bring to this city of Ormuz, quicksilver, vermillion, rose-water, brocade and silk stuffs, scarlet woollens, coarse camelots, and silk.

From A Description of the Coasts of East Africa and Malabar in the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century by Duarte Barbosa

Three rivers surrounded the garden, flowing with wine, rose-water, and honey.

From The Thousand and One Days A Companion to the 'Arabian Nights' by Julia Pardoe

The manufactures consist of woollen stuffs, copper- and iron-ware, and rose-water; and there is some trade in saffron, largely grown in the vicinity.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 1: Deposition to Eberswalde by Various