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” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #9,048 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#9,048
frequency rank, English
5
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 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.

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)

Where “goose” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). goose lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for goose is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɡuːs/. Corpus data places it at rank #9,048 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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.

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.

Using “goose”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is G-O-O-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ɡuːs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “gosh” - see the side-by-side comparison. goose vs gosh
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list