bushwhack
verb
bushwhack is spelled B-U-S-H-W-H-A-C-K: 9 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 36 million words in written English, the 184,844th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, bushwhack means “To travel through thick wooded country, cutting away scrub to make progress” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in bushwhack?
| Letters | 9: B-U-S-H-W-H-A-C-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 36 million words; the 184,844th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is bushwhack?
Bushwhack appears about once in every 36 million words in written English, the 184,844th 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 bushwhack?
Bushwhack has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of bushwhack
- bushwhacks present, singular, he/she/it
- bushwhacking participle, present
- bushwhacked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bushwhack mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To travel through thick wooded country, cutting away scrub to make progress.
- 2
To fight, as a guerrilla, especially in wooded country.
- 3
To ambush.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bushwhack in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to travel through thick wooded country:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | sich durchs Dickicht schlagen |
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 bushwhack come from?
From bush + whack.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).