bourse

/bʊəs/

//bʊəs// noun

"bourse" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bourse” is uncommon English (frequency #54,055 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,055
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A stock exchange.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bourse · bourse · English

bourse · rank #54,055 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #54,055
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH borax

Nearest frequency peer: borax (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “bourse”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “bourse” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for bourse
PropertyValue
Headwordbourse
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bʊəs/
Letters6
Frequency rank#54,055
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “bourse” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).boursefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “borax” (#54,054), “braving” (#54,057), “bricked” (#54,058). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bourse” is #54,055. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

bourse is uncommon English at frequency #54,055 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /bʊəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for bourse in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French bourse, from Old French borse, from Latin bursa, from Ancient Greek βύρσα (búrsa). Doublet of purse, compare Danish børs, Swedish börs, German Börse. See also bursar. The correct English form is bourse, spelled B-O-U-R-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A stock exchange.
  2. 2
    A stock exchange.
  3. 3
    A meeting of stamp collectors and/or dealers, where stamps and covers are sold or exchanged.
  4. 4
    The swollen basal part of an inflorescence axis at the onset of fruit development; it bears leaves whose axillary buds differentiate and may grow out as shoots.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how bourse appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. For quotations using this term, see Citations:bourse.

Etymology

Borrowed from French bourse, from Old French borse, from Latin bursa, from Ancient Greek βύρσα (búrsa). Doublet of purse, compare Danish børs, Swedish börs, German Börse. See also bursar.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bourse"?
"bourse" is spelled B-O-U-R-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /bʊəs/.
What does "bourse" mean?
As a noun, "bourse" means: A stock exchange.
How do you pronounce "bourse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bourse" is /bʊəs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "bourse"?
Borrowed from French bourse, from Old French borse, from Latin bursa, from Ancient Greek βύρσα (búrsa). Doublet of purse, compare Danish børs, Swedish börs, German Börse. See also bursar. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "bourse", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list