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  • rosemary
    rosemary
    noun
    an evergreen shrub, Rosmarinus officinalis, of the mint family, native to the Mediterranean region, having leathery, narrow leaves and pale-blue, bell-shaped flowers, used as a seasoning and in perfumery and medicine: a traditional symbol of remembrance.
  • Rosemary
    Rosemary
    noun
    a female given name.

rosemary

1 American  
[rohz-mair-ee, -muh-ree] / ˈroʊzˌmɛər i, -mə ri /

noun

  • rosemaries
    plural
  1. an evergreen shrub, Rosmarinus officinalis, of the mint family, native to the Mediterranean region, having leathery, narrow leaves and pale-blue, bell-shaped flowers, used as a seasoning and in perfumery and medicine: a traditional symbol of remembrance.


Rosemary 2 American  
[rohz-mair-ee, -muh-ree] / ˈroʊzˌmɛər i, -mə ri /

noun

  1. a female given name.


rosemary British  
/ ˈrəʊzmərɪ /

noun

  1. an aromatic European shrub, Rosmarinus officinalis , widely cultivated for its grey-green evergreen leaves, which are used in cookery for flavouring and yield a fragrant oil used in the manufacture of perfumes: family Lamiaceae (labiates). It is the traditional flower of remembrance

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of rosemary

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)


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Some plants infuse their leaves with chemicals that are toxic to pests but useful to humans in moderation, such as the bitter tannins in tea and the fragrant oils in mint and rosemary.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 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

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

The brisket, seasoned with salt and pepper along with berbere, rosemary, garlic, and ginger, was the standout—rich, smoky, and deeply flavorful.

From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2026

“Here’s rosemary; that’s for remembrance,” I said, tucking a sprig into his doublet, which had been ripped and smeared with dirt in the fray with the guards.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

During this period, the two nurses, Rosemary Chukwuji-Ohanachum and Raji Olagunju, were in the staff room with the door shut.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

Before Washington's call, Rosemary Di Carlo, the UN's Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, warned a "worrying aspect of the conflict in Sudan is its increasing complexity."

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

Rosemary and Peter Grant, a married pair of evolutionary biologists who studied songbirds on Daphne Major, a small volcanic island in the Galápagos archipelago, are the subjects of Jonathan Weiner’s “The Beak of the Finch.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

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

“The community lost Rosemary after five weeks and it was a disaster for them. I don’t know what the community would do if they lost you.”

From "The Giver" by Lois Lowry

The Banded and the Silky Epeira, both of whom live on the rosemaries in the enclosure, shall show us in broad daylight the innermost details of the tragedy.

From The Wonders of Instinct Chapters in the Psychology of Insects 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

I know, from my past excavations, the points favoured by the grub: the mounds of sand heaped up by the wind at the foot of the rosemaries on the neighbouring hill-sides.

From More Hunting Wasps by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos

The Banded and the Silky Epeira, both of whom live on the rosemaries in the enclosure, shall show us in broad day-light the innermost details of the tragedy.

From The Life of the Spider 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

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