bush
/ˈbʊʃ/noun, verb, adverb, adjective
bush is spelled B-U-S-H: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 31 times per million words in written English, the 3,052nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, bush means “A woody plant distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, being usually less than six metres tall; a horticultural rather than…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of bush is bushes.
How many letters and syllables are in bush?
| Letters | 4: B-U-S-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 31 times per million words; the 3,052nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is bush?
Bush appears 31 times per million words in written English, the 3,052nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce bush?
- US /ˈbʊʃ/
- US [ˈbʊʃ]
- British /ˈbɵʃ/
Bush has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-bush.ogg, EN-AU_ck1_bush.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with bush
Also written: bouche.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with bush?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as bush (/ʊʃ/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: hubs.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of bush
- bushes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- bushing participle, present
- bushed participle, past
- more bush comparative
- most bush superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bush mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A woody plant distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, being usually less than six metres tall; a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category.
- 2
A shrub cut off, or a shrublike branch of a tree.
bushes to support pea vines
- 3
archaicA thicket, a small wood, or a tract of uncleared, woody land.
- 4
A shrub or branch, properly, a branch of ivy (sacred to Bacchus), hung out at vintners' doors, or as a tavern sign; hence, a tavern sign, and symbolically, the tavern itself.
- 5
slangvulgarA person's pubic hair, especially a woman's.
- 6
The tail, or brush, of a fox.
- 7
AustraliaCanadaTracts of land covered in natural vegetation that are largely undeveloped and uncultivated, typically distinguished from absolute wilderness by implying a degree of marginal human engagement or proximity to settlement edges.
- 8
AustraliaCanadaThe countryside area of Australia that is less arid and less remote than the outback; loosely, areas of natural flora even within conurbations.
- 9
AustraliaCanadaAn area of New Zealand covered in forest, especially native forest.
- 10
AustraliaCanadaThe wild forested areas of Canada; upcountry.
- 11
CanadaA wood lot or bluff on a farm.
- 12
Amateurish behavior, short for bush league behavior
- 13
A thick washer or hollow cylinder of metal.
- 14
A mechanical attachment, usually a metallic socket with a screw thread, such as the mechanism by which a camera is attached to a tripod stand.
- 15
A piece of copper, screwed into a gun, through which the venthole is bored.
- 16
archaicA tavern or wine merchant.
verb
- 1
To branch thickly in the manner of a bush.
- 2
To set bushes for; to support with bushes.
to bush peas
- 3
To use a bush harrow on (land), for covering seeds sown; to harrow with a bush.
to bush a piece of land; to bush seeds into the ground
- 4
To become bushy (often used with up).
I can tell when my cat is upset because he’ll bush up his tail.
- 5
To furnish with a bush or lining; to line.
to bush a pivot hole
adverb
- 1
AustraliaTowards the direction of the outback.
On hatching, the chicks scramble to the surface and head bush on their own.
adjective
- 1
colloquialNot skilled; not professional; not major league.
They’re supposed to be a major league team, but so far they've been bush.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bush in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | buisson, arbrisseau , touffe, persil, toison , maquis |
| German | Strauch, Busch |
| Portuguese | arbusto, moita , pintelheira, pentelheira, pentelhada , mato |
| Spanish | arbusto , vello púbico, pelos púbicos, pendejos |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does bush come from?
From Middle English bush, from Old English *busċ, *bysċ (“copse, grove, scrub”, in placenames), from Proto-West Germanic *busk, from Proto-Germanic *buskaz (“bush, thicket”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to grow”). Doublet of bosque.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).