thrush

/θɹʌʃ/

//θɹʌʃ// noun

"thrush" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“thrush” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #35,985 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#35,985
frequency rank, English
6
letters
10
tracked misspellings
13
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of numerous species of songbirds of the cosmopolitan family Turdidae, such as the song thrush, mistle thrush, bluebird, and American robin.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

thrush vs thus
67% similar
thrush vs trust
67% similar
thrush vs truth
67% similar

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

Key facts for thrush
PropertyValue
Headwordthrush
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/θɹʌʃ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#35,985
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs13
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “thrush” 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). thrush 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 thrush is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /θɹʌʃ/. Corpus data places it at rank #35,985 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for thrush, with forms such as "htrush", "thhrush", and "thrrush". 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 13 confusable-pair relationships, "thus", "trust", "truth", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English thrusche, þrusch, þresche, from a combination of Old English þrysċe (from Proto-Germanic *þruskijǭ, a diminutive of Proto-Germanic *þruskō) and Old English þræsċe (from Proto-Germanic *þrauskǭ and/or *þrastuz); all from Proto-Indo-Europe… The correct English form is thrush, spelled T-H-R-U-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of numerous species of songbirds of the cosmopolitan family Turdidae, such as the song thrush, mistle thrush, bluebird, and American robin.
  2. 2
    A female singer.

Etymology

From Middle English thrusche, þrusch, þresche, from a combination of Old English þrysċe (from Proto-Germanic *þruskijǭ, a diminutive of Proto-Germanic *þruskō) and Old English þræsċe (from Proto-Germanic *þrauskǭ and/or *þrastuz); all from Proto-Indo-European *trosdos (“thrush”). Cognate with German Drossel, Old Norse þrǫstr, Latin turdus, Lithuanian strazdas (“thrush”), Middle Irish truid, Welsh drudwy (“starling”), Old Church Slavonic дрозгъ (drozgŭ), Russian дрозд (drozd).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: htrush,thhrush,thrrush,thrsuh,thruhs,thrushh,thrussh,thursh,trhush,tthrush

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of thrush - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

htrush2thhrush1thrrush1thrsuh2thruhs2thrushh1thrussh1thursh2
Edit distance from "thrush"

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 "thrush"?
"thrush" is spelled T-H-R-U-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /θɹʌʃ/.
What does "thrush" mean?
As a noun, "thrush" means: Any of numerous species of songbirds of the cosmopolitan family Turdidae, such as the song thrush, mistle thrush, bluebird, and American robin.
What words are commonly confused with "thrush"?
"thrush" is commonly confused with "thus", "trust", "truth". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "thrush"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "thrush" is /θɹʌʃ/. 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 "thrush"?
From Middle English thrusche, þrusch, þresche, from a combination of Old English þrysċe (from Proto-Germanic *þruskijǭ, a diminutive of Proto-Germanic *þruskō) and Old English þræsċe (from Proto-Germanic *þrauskǭ and/or *þrastuz); all from Proto-I... 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 “thrush”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is T-H-R-U-S-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /θɹʌʃ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “thus” - see the side-by-side comparison. thrush vs thus
  • 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