wintergreen

American  

[win-ter-green] / ˈwɪn tərˌgrin /

noun

1. Also called checkerberry. a small, creeping, evergreen shrub, Gaultheria procumbens, of the heath family, common in eastern North America, having white, nodding, bell-shaped flowers, a bright-red, berrylike fruit, and aromatic leaves that yield a volatile oil.

2. the oil of this shrub; wintergreen oil; methyl salicylate.

3. the flavor of oil of wintergreen or something flavored with it.

4. any of various other plants of the same genus.

5. any of various small evergreen herbs of the genera Pyrola and Chimaphila.

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wintergreen British  

/ ˈwɪntəˌɡriːn /

noun

1. Also called: boxberry, checkerberry, teaberry, spiceberry, partridgeberry. any of several evergreen ericaceous shrubs of the genus Gaultheria, esp G. procumbens, of E North America, which has white bell-shaped flowers and edible red berries

2. an aromatic compound, formerly made from this and various other plants but now synthesized: used medicinally and for flavouring

3. Usual US name: shinleaf. any of various plants of the genus Pyrola, such as P. minor ( common wintergreen ), of temperate and arctic regions, having rounded leaves and small pink globose flowers: family Pyrolaceae

4. any of several plants of the genera Orthilia and Moneses: family Pyrolaceae

5. a primulaceous plant, Trientalis europaea, of N Europe and N Asia, having white flowers and leaves arranged in a whorl

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Etymology

Origin of wintergreen

1540–50; translation of Dutch wintergroen or German Wintergrün

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wintergreen

Flavors from the period like clove and sassafras have given way to an ambiguous array of what might best be called fruit-adjacent flavors, and wintergreen.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 7, 2023

I caught a whiff of peppermint Or was it wintergreen?

From Washington Post ● Aug. 18, 2022

It bars the sale of flavors including - but not limited to -“fruit, chocolate, vanilla, honey, candy, cocoa, dessert, alcoholic beverage, menthol, mint, wintergreen, herb, or spice.”

From Washington Times ● Jan. 22, 2021

So I got those three extracts, and I thought I would base it on peppermint and add some notes of spearmint and wintergreen.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 27, 2016

Lacey distributes one piece of wintergreen gum to each of us, but it’s cold comfort.

From "Paper Towns" by John Green

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