unhorse

verb

"unhorse" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“unhorse” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To forcibly remove from a horse.

Corpus desk

Index EN-unhorse · unhorse · English

unhorse · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "U" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for unhorse
PropertyValue
Headwordunhorse
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “unhorse” in English

unhorseranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

unhorse is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for unhorse, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English unhorsen, equivalent to un- + horse. The correct English form is unhorse, spelled U-N-H-O-R-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To forcibly remove from a horse.
  2. 2
    To disrupt or unseat; to remove from a position.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The knight was unhorsed when his opponent's lance struck his shield.
  2. The incumbent governor was unhorsed by the scandal that broke during his reelection campaign.

Etymology

From Middle English unhorsen, equivalent to un- + horse.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "unhorse"?
"unhorse" is spelled U-N-H-O-R-S-E.
What does "unhorse" mean?
As a verb, "unhorse" means: To forcibly remove from a horse.
What is the origin of the word "unhorse"?
From Middle English unhorsen, equivalent to un- + horse. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list