gorse

/ɡɔɹs/

//ɡɔɹs// noun

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

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

The verdict

“gorse” is uncommon English (frequency #62,929 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#62,929
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An evergreen shrub, of the genus Ulex, having thorns, spiny leaves, and yellow flowers.

Corpus desk

Index EN-gorse · gorse · English

gorse · rank #62,929 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #62,929
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH goldy

Nearest frequency peer: goldy (-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 “gorse”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for gorse
PropertyValue
Headwordgorse
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɡɔɹs/
Letters5
Frequency rank#62,929
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “gorse” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).gorsefalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “goldy” (#62,928), “goe” (#62,927), “granddaddy” (#62,931). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gorse” is #62,929. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

gorse is uncommon English at frequency #62,929 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ɡɔɹs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An evergreen shrub, of the genus Ulex, having thorns, spiny leaves, and yellow flowers.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for gorse, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. 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 gorst, gors, from Old English gors, gorst, from Proto-West Germanic *gorst, from Proto-Germanic *gurstaz or Proto-West Germanic *gerstu (“barley”). Akin to German Gerste (“barley”) and Latin hordeum (“barley”). Also compare Proto-Indo-Eu… The correct English form is gorse, spelled G-O-R-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An evergreen shrub, of the genus Ulex, having thorns, spiny leaves, and yellow flowers.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The hovel stood in the centre of what had once been a vegetable garden, but was now a patch of rank weeds. Surrounding this, almost like a zareba, was an irregular ring of gorse and brambles, an unclaimed vestige of the original common.
  2. Hidden behind thickets of acronyms and gorse bushes of detail, a new great game is under way across the globe. Some call it geoeconomics, but it's geopolitics too. The current power play consists of an extraordinary range of countries simultaneously sitting down to negotiate big free trade and investment agreements.

Etymology

From Middle English gorst, gors, from Old English gors, gorst, from Proto-West Germanic *gorst, from Proto-Germanic *gurstaz or Proto-West Germanic *gerstu (“barley”). Akin to German Gerste (“barley”) and Latin hordeum (“barley”). Also compare Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer- (“to bristle”), whence Proto-Celtic *garwos.

Synonyms

furzewhin

This word in other languages

tojo(Español)ajonc(Français)Ginster(Deutsch)tojo(Português)

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 "gorse"?
"gorse" is spelled G-O-R-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡɔɹs/.
What does "gorse" mean?
As a noun, "gorse" means: An evergreen shrub, of the genus Ulex, having thorns, spiny leaves, and yellow flowers.
How do you pronounce "gorse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gorse" is /ɡɔɹs/. 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 "gorse"?
From Middle English gorst, gors, from Old English gors, gorst, from Proto-West Germanic *gorst, from Proto-Germanic *gurstaz or Proto-West Germanic *gerstu (“barley”). Akin to German Gerste (“barley”) and Latin hordeum (“barley”). Also compare Pro... 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 "gorse", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

goldy#62,928Gagne#62,913Ilham#62,982Ilona#62,983

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list