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• woodruff
  woodruff

  noun

  any of several plants belonging to the genus Asperula or Galium, of the madder family, as G. odoratum sweet woodruff, a fragrant plant with small white flowers.
• Woodruff
  Woodruff

  noun

  Hiram, 1817–67, Canadian driver, trainer, and breeder of harness-racing horses.

woodruff

¹ American  

[wood-ruhf, -ruhf] / ˈwʊd rəf, -ˌrʌf /

noun

1. any of several plants belonging to the genus Asperula or Galium, of the madder family, as G. odoratum sweet woodruff, a fragrant plant with small white flowers.

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Woodruff ² American  

[wood-ruhf] / ˈwʊd rəf /

noun

1. Hiram, 1817–67, Canadian driver, trainer, and breeder of harness-racing horses.

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woodruff British  

/ ˈwʊdrʌf /

noun

1. any of several rubiaceous plants of the genus Galium , esp G. odoratum ( sweet woodruff ), of Eurasia, which has small sweet-scented white flowers and whorls of narrow fragrant leaves used to flavour wine and liqueurs and in perfumery

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Etymology

Origin of woodruff

before 1000; Middle English woderove, Old English wudurofe, wudurife, equivalent to wudu wood ¹ + -rofe, -rife, element of uncertain meaning; compare German Rübe carrot

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

woodruff Woodruff

Pentire also makes botanical, non-alcoholic spirits which don‘t fall into traditional booze categories. Their Seaward boasts “bright, zesty and verdant” flavors, with ingredients like sea rosemary, woodruff, sea buckhorn and pink grapefruit.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 28, 2023

Come to think of it, sweet woodruff and mint might make good bedfellows, each wandering herb helping to curb the spread of the other.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 29, 2023

Valued for its lasting fragrance, sweet woodruff is used commercially in perfumes and natural potpourris.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 29, 2023

Bugleweed and sweet woodruff are two deep-shade lovers that do well in the Washington area.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 4, 2016

Stephen and Giles were quartered in a small room known as the Feathers, smelling so sweet of lavender and woodruff that Stephen declared it carried him back to the Forest. 

From The Armourer's Prentices by Charlotte Mary Yonge

Blake, who co-founded the mobile library with Woodruff, arrived a few minutes later with food and more clothing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2026

When youngsters spotted Woodruff, they called her name and ran to hug her.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2026

Gifford Pinchot, Roosevelt’s close friend and a Tennis Cabinet member, wanted the president to bring a rough-edged man named George Washington Woodruff into the club.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026

"It's like a crowded bar," said David Hu, a professor in Georgia Tech's George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Biological Sciences.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 22, 2026

She went to Mary A. Woodruff, and I knew she was home because I'd had this letter from her a couple of weeks ago.

From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger