furze

/fɜː(ɹ)z/

//fɜː(ɹ)z// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"furze" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“furze” is uncommon English (frequency #94,877 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#94,877
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A thorny evergreen shrub, with yellow flowers, Ulex gen. et spp., of which Ulex europaeus is particularly common upon the plains and hills of Great Britain and Ireland.

Corpus desk

Index EN-furze · furze · English

furze · rank #94,877 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #94,877
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH furr

Nearest frequency peer: furr (-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 “furze”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for furze
PropertyValue
Headwordfurze
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/fɜː(ɹ)z/
Letters5
Frequency rank#94,877
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “furze” 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).furzefalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “furr” (#94,876), “funner” (#94,875), “Galatia” (#94,879). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “furze” is #94,877. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

furze is uncommon English at frequency #94,877 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /fɜː(ɹ)z/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A thorny evergreen shrub, with yellow flowers, Ulex gen. et spp., of which Ulex europaeus is particularly common upon the plains and hills of Great Britain and Ireland.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for furze, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English firse, furs, from Old English fyrs (“furze, gorse, bramble”), from Old English fyres (“furze”), related to Old English fȳr (“fire”); otherwise of unknown origin. The correct English form is furze, spelled F-U-R-Z-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A thorny evergreen shrub, with yellow flowers, Ulex gen. et spp., of which Ulex europaeus is particularly common upon the plains and hills of Great Britain and Ireland.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Gonz. Now would I giue a thouſand furlongs of Sea, for an Acre of barren ground : Long heath, Browne firrs, any thing;[…]
  2. At length, receiving his quarterly allowance of fifteen guineas, instead of discharging his debts he walk'd out of town, hid his gown in a furze bush, and footed it to London, […]

Etymology

From Middle English firse, furs, from Old English fyrs (“furze, gorse, bramble”), from Old English fyres (“furze”), related to Old English fȳr (“fire”); otherwise of unknown origin.

Synonyms

gorsewhin

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 "furze"?
"furze" is spelled F-U-R-Z-E. The IPA pronunciation is /fɜː(ɹ)z/.
What does "furze" mean?
As a noun, "furze" means: A thorny evergreen shrub, with yellow flowers, Ulex gen. et spp., of which Ulex europaeus is particularly common upon the plains and hills of Great Britain and Ireland.
How do you pronounce "furze"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "furze" is /fɜː(ɹ)z/. 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 "furze"?
From Middle English firse, furs, from Old English fyrs (“furze, gorse, bramble”), from Old English fyres (“furze”), related to Old English fȳr (“fire”); otherwise of unknown origin. 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 "furze", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Fowey#94,870flied#94,865Fiero#94,860Fazal#94,853

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list