rose

SayROHZUS/ɹoʊz//ɹəʊz/

Pluralroses

Verbroses, rosing, rosed

16 meanings of rose

Practice

1
flowernouncountable or uncountable
A sweet-smelling flower, often red or pink, or the thorny bush it grows on. Garden roses have many soft petals.
Like the flower people often give on Valentine's Day.
She picked a single rose from the garden for the vase.
He handed her a dozen roses on their anniversary.
Note
2
went upverb
Past tense of rise. Use it for the past.
The sun rose behind the mountains this morning.
Smoke rose from the chimney all afternoon.
3
colored pinkadjective
Having a pink or purplish-red color.
Her cheeks turned a rose shade after the long walk.
They chose rose curtains to warm up the living room.
Similarpink, rosy, roseate
4
nouncountable or uncountable
A pink or purplish-red color, like some rose flowers.
She painted the bedroom walls a soft rose.
The fabric came in three shades, including a deep rose.
Similarpink, blush
5
nouncountable or uncountable
An object or design shaped like a rose, including a rose on a coat of arms.
She pinned a satin rose to her coat.
Her grandmother's quilt has a red rose stitched onto every square.
Similarrosette
6
USroh-ZAY/ɹoʊˈzeɪ/UKROH-zay/ˈɹəʊzeɪ/
pink winenoun
Another spelling of rosé: a pink-colored wine.
We opened a chilled bottle of rose on the patio.
She prefers a dry rose with summer meals.
UsageWriting rosé with the accent is clearer.
Note

Less common meanings

7
plant familynouncountable or uncountable
Loosely, a plant in the same family as roses, or a plant that looks like a rose.
Our Lenten roses bloom in late winter, before the tulips come up.
The rock rose has small pink flowers and grows on dry, sunny hills.
8
went upverbnonstandard
Past participle of rise. Some people say it in casual talk after has or had, but the usual form is risen.
"I bet the river's rose a foot since lunch," Dad said, looking out at the rain.
"The sun had already rose by the time I got out of bed," he admitted.
Note
9
spray nozzlenouncountable or uncountable
A round cap with small holes that fits on a watering can to make a soft spray.
He unscrewed the rose to clear the blocked holes.
Water came out in a gentle spray through the rose.
Similarsprinkler
10
ceiling mountnounUKAustraliacountable or uncountable
A round decoration on a ceiling where a light hangs, or the round cover that holds the light's wires.
The electrician fixed a new rose to the ceiling before hanging the lamp.
Paint had cracked around the old rose where the cord came through.
UsagePeople often say ceiling rose.
11
reddenverbliterarytransitive
To make something turn pink or red, like a blush.
A maid yet rosed over with the virgin crimson of modesty.
1599, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”Here, rosed means made rosy or red, flushed with color.
Similarredden, flush, pink
Oppositeblanch, pale
Note
12
perfumeverbraretransitive
To give something a sweet smell, like the smell of roses.
Similarperfume, scent
13
curve (math)nouncountable or uncountable
A flower-shaped curve you get when you graph certain sine or cosine equations.
Like a flower shape you make by spinning a pencil around in a pattern.
The teacher drew a rose on the board by graphing a simple sine equation.
Each rose we plotted had a different number of petals.
Note
14
noun
A kind of large butterfly with a red body, found mostly in Asia.
15
noun
In math, a shape made of several loops that are all joined at one single point.
16
noun
A special chess piece used in puzzle games that moves like a knight along a curving, circular path.

rose is a form of rise

rise, verb: To go up in amount, price, or number. Full entry

Forms: riserises he/she/itrising -ing formrose past tenserisen past participle
Spelling: rise → rose: irregular (no -ed)

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of rose apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1, 3–5, 7, 9–13

The word comes from Old English rōse, from Latin rosa. The Latin word's origin is uncertain, but it likely goes back to an Ancient Greek word for "rose."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

English rose derives from Old English rōse, from Latin rosa. en.wikipedia.org
The origin of Latin rosa is uncertain. en.wiktionary.org
Latin rosa probably derives from an Ancient Greek word meaning rose. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 2, 8

One of the past forms of rise.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

Rose is one of the past forms of rise. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 6

This comes from French rosé, meaning "pinkish."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

This sense is borrowed from French rosé. en.wiktionary.org
French rosé means “pinkish.” en.wiktionary.org