Definition of "tea rose" [tea rose]

• Any of several cultivated roses derived from Rosa odorata, native to China, having fragrant yellowish or pink flowers. (noun)
• Any of a group of roses introduced into cultivation prior to 1867 and having relatively few thorns, glossy leaves, and open, cup-shaped flowers that bloom nearly year-round. (noun)
• A pale to strong yellowish pink. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Page 230 those handsome curios, smashed the sèvers vases and picked the buds from the lovely tea rose -- so exasperatingly that the good woman could never again endure the sight of her -- this ill-fated bird is worth no less."