goose

/ɡuːs/

//ɡuːs// noun

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

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

The verdict

“goose” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,048. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,048
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of various grazing waterfowl of the family Anatidae, which have feathers and webbed feet and are capable of flying, swimming, and walking on land, and which are generally bigger than ducks.

Corpus desk

Index EN-goose · goose · English

goose · rank #9,048 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,048
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH genetics

Nearest frequency peer: genetics (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “goose”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “goose” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

goose vs gosh
60% similar
goose vs gore
60% similar
goose vs goss
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for goose
PropertyValue
Headwordgoose
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɡuːs/
Letters5
Frequency rank#9,048
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “goose”

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).gooselands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “genetics” (#9,047), “grill” (#9,049), “gel” (#9,046). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “goose” is #9,048. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around goose (IPA /ɡuːs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #9,048 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for goose, with forms such as "ggoose", "gooes", and "goosse". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "gosh", "gore", "goss", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *ǵʰh₂éns From Middle English goos, gos, from Old English gōs, from Proto-West Germanic *gans, from Proto-Germanic *gans, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰh₂éns. Cognates Compare West Frisian goes, North Frisian göis (also Fering-Öömrang dialect North F… The correct English form is goose, spelled G-O-O-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of various grazing waterfowl of the family Anatidae, which have feathers and webbed feet and are capable of flying, swimming, and walking on land, and which are generally bigger than ducks.
  2. 2
    A female goose.
  3. 3
    The flesh of the goose used as food.
  4. 4
    A silly person.
  5. 5
    A tailor's iron, heated in live coals or embers, used to press fabrics.
  6. 6
    A young woman or girlfriend.
  7. 7
    An old English board game in which players moved counters along a board, earning a double move when they reached the picture of a goose.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. There is a flock of geese on the pond.
  2. The goose, reputed to possess high generative power, was sacred to Priapus.

Etymology

PIE word *ǵʰh₂éns From Middle English goos, gos, from Old English gōs, from Proto-West Germanic *gans, from Proto-Germanic *gans, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰh₂éns. Cognates Compare West Frisian goes, North Frisian göis (also Fering-Öömrang dialect North Frisian gus; Sölring dialect North Frisian Guus; Heligoland dialect North Frisian gus), Low German Goos, Gans, Dutch gans, German Gans, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian gås, Icelandic gæs, Irish gé, Latin ānser, Latvian zùoss, Russian гусь (gusʹ), Albanian gatë, Ancient Greek χήν (khḗn), Avestan 𐬰𐬁 (zā), Sanskrit हंस (haṃsá). * The tailor's iron is so called from the likeness of the handle to the neck of a goose.

This word in other languages

ganso(Español)oie(Français)Gans(Deutsch)ganso(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ggoose
  • gooes
  • goosse
  • gosoe
  • ogose

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of goose - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ggoose1gooes2goosse1gosoe2ogose2
Edit distance from "goose"

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 "goose"?
"goose" is spelled G-O-O-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡuːs/.
What does "goose" mean?
As a noun, "goose" means: Any of various grazing waterfowl of the family Anatidae, which have feathers and webbed feet and are capable of flying, swimming, and walking on land, and which are generally bigger than ducks.
What words are commonly confused with "goose"?
"goose" is commonly confused with "gosh", "gore", "goss". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "goose"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "goose" is /ɡuːs/. 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 "goose"?
PIE word *ǵʰh₂éns From Middle English goos, gos, from Old English gōs, from Proto-West Germanic *gans, from Proto-Germanic *gans, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰh₂éns. Cognates Compare West Frisian goes, North Frisian göis (also Fering-Öömrang diale... 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 "goose", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

grill#9,049Felix#9,044exile#9,042elbow#9,037

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

utter5 variantsboil5 variantsBoyd5 variantsDiane5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list