rose

/ɹəʊz/

//ɹəʊz// noun

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

The verdict

“rose” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,614. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,614
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - A shrub of the genus Rosa, with red, pink, white or yellow flowers.

Corpus desk

Index EN-rose · rose · English

rose · rank #1,614 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,614
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH returned

Nearest frequency peer: returned (-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 neighbourhood for “rose”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “rose” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

rose vs RS
0% similar
rose vs row
50% similar
rose vs Roy
25% similar

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

Key facts for rose
PropertyValue
Headwordrose
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹəʊz/
Letters4
Frequency rank#1,614
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “rose” 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). rose lands here:

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

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around rose (IPA /ɹəʊz/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,614 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 14 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for rose, with forms such as "orse", "roes", and "rosse". 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, "RS", "row", "Roy", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English rose, roose, from Old English rōse, but with its vowel influenced by Old French rose, both from Latin rosa. cognates and more remote and uncertain etymology The Latin is of uncertain origin, but likely via Oscan from Ancient Greek ῥόδον … The correct English form is rose, spelled R-O-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A shrub of the genus Rosa, with red, pink, white or yellow flowers.
  2. 2
    A flower of the rose plant.
  3. 3
    A plant or species in the rose family. (Rosaceae)
  4. 4
    Something resembling a rose flower, such as a compass rose.
  5. 5
    A bouquet of circles.
  6. 6
    The rose flower, usually depicted with five petals, five barbs, and a circular seed.
  7. 7
    A purplish-red or pink color, the color of some rose flowers.
  8. 8
    A round nozzle for a sprinkling can or hose.
  9. 9
    The usually circular base of a light socket in the ceiling, from which the fitting or chandelier is suspended.
  10. 10
    Any of various large, red-bodied, papilionid butterflies of the genus Pachliopta.
  11. 11
    Any of various flower-like polar graphs of sinusoids or their squares.
  12. 12
    A graph with only one vertex.
  13. 13
    A fairy chess piece that can make knight moves in a circular path.
  14. 14
    A type of sex toy shaped like a rose.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Iu. 'Tis but thy name that is my Enemy: Thou art thy ſelfe... What's in a name? That which we call a Roſe, By any other word would ſmell as ſweete...
  2. 1794, Robert Burns, "A Red, Red Rose:" O my Luve's like a red, red rose That's newly sprung in june...

Etymology

From Middle English rose, roose, from Old English rōse, but with its vowel influenced by Old French rose, both from Latin rosa. cognates and more remote and uncertain etymology The Latin is of uncertain origin, but likely via Oscan from Ancient Greek ῥόδον (rhódon, “rose”) (Aeolic ϝρόδον (wródon)), from Old Persian *vr̥dah (“flower”) (compare Avestan 𐬬𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬜𐬀- (var^əδa-), Sogdian [script needed] (ward), Parthian wâr, late Middle Persian [Term?] (gwl /⁠gul⁠/), Persian گل (gol, “rose, flower”), and Middle Iranian borrowings including Old Armenian վարդ (vard, “rose”), Aramaic וַרְדָּא (wardā) / ܘܪܕܐ (wardā), Arabic وَرْدَة (warda), Hebrew וֶרֶד (wéreḏ)), from Proto-Indo-European *wr̥dʰos (“sweetbriar”) (compare Old English word (“thornbush”), Latin rubus (“bramble”), Albanian hurdhe (“ivy”)). Possibly ultimately a derivation from a verb for "to grow" only attested in Indo-Iranian (*Hwardʰ-, compare Sanskrit वर्धति (vardhati), with relatives in Avestan).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • orse
  • roes
  • rosse
  • rrose
  • rsoe

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

orse2roes2rosse1rrose1rsoe2
Edit distance from "rose"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "rose"?
"rose" is spelled R-O-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹəʊz/.
What does "rose" mean?
As a noun, "rose" means: A shrub of the genus Rosa, with red, pink, white or yellow flowers.
What words are commonly confused with "rose"?
"rose" is commonly confused with "RS", "row", "Roy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "rose"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rose" is /ɹəʊz/. 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 "rose"?
From Middle English rose, roose, from Old English rōse, but with its vowel influenced by Old French rose, both from Latin rosa. cognates and more remote and uncertain etymology The Latin is of uncertain origin, but likely via Oscan from Ancient Gr... 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 "rose", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Similar misspelling depth

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

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