goss

noun

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

"goss" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“goss” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #30,069) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#30,069
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Gossip.

Corpus desk

Index EN-goss · goss · English

goss · rank #30,069 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #30,069
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH Gower

Nearest frequency peer: Gower (+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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “goss”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “goss” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

goss vs GS
0% similar
goss vs got
50% similar
goss vs GPS
0% similar

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

Key facts for goss
PropertyValue
Headwordgoss
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters4
Frequency rank#30,069
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “goss”

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).gosslands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Gower” (#30,070), “goode” (#30,067), “grandiose” (#30,071). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “goss” is #30,069. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for goss is neighbouring look-alikes ("GS", "got", …), not just typos; it is anoun. Frequency #30,069 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Gloss: "Gossip.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for goss, with forms such as "ggoss", "gos", and "gsos". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "GS", "got", "GPS", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Clipping of gossip. The correct English form is goss, spelled G-O-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Gossip.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The hottest goss in celeb-land today is that Angelina Jolie is jealous of her fella's relationship with his ex-wife.
  2. To give myself a break from the energy sapping, demoralising patrolling of this uninviting habitat, and to get away from any more creepy visions, I decided to drive into Mount Isa, ostensibly to be within phone range so I could contact Bob Forsyth and find out any local goss from him.

Etymology

Clipping of gossip.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ggoss
  • gos
  • gsos
  • ogss

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of goss - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ggoss1gos1gsos2ogss2
Edit distance from "goss"

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 "goss"?
"goss" is spelled G-O-S-S.
What does "goss" mean?
As a noun, "goss" means: Gossip.
What words are commonly confused with "goss"?
"goss" is commonly confused with "GS", "got", "GPS". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "goss"?
Clipping of gossip. 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 "goss", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

goff#30,066gels#30,058Hera#30,081iota#30,103

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list