brosse

\bʁɔs\

/\bʁɔs\/ noun

The verdict

“brosse” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #8,816 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#8,816
frequency rank, French
6
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Ustensile servant à nettoyer les vêtements, les meubles, etc., et fait ordinairement d’un assemblage de poils de cochon ou de sanglier, quelquefois de crins de cheval, de brins menus de bruyère ou ...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

brosse vs broyé
50% similar
brosse vs brousse
86% similar
brosse vs brosser
86% similar

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

Key facts for brosse
PropertyValue
Headwordbrosse
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\bʁɔs\
Letters6
Frequency rank#8,816
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “brosse” sits in French 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). brosse 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 French entry for brosse is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \bʁɔs\. Corpus data places it at rank #8,816 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for brosse, with forms such as "bbrosse", "borsse", and "brose". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "broyé", "brousse", "brosser", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is brosse, spelled B-R-O-S-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Ustensile servant à nettoyer les vêtements, les meubles, etc., et fait ordinairement d’un assemblage de poils de cochon ou de sanglier, quelquefois de crins de cheval, de brins menus de bruyère ou de chiendent, etc.
  2. 2
    Ustensile servant à nettoyer les vêtements, les meubles, etc., et fait ordinairement d’un assemblage de poils de cochon ou de sanglier, quelquefois de crins de cheval, de brins menus de bruyère ou de chiendent, etc.
  3. 3
    Large pinceau dont se servent les peintres en bâtiment.
  4. 4
    Type de pinceau d’artistes à poils durs et fermes (soies de porc) pour une utilisation avec des peintures en pâtes (huile, acrylique), par opposition au pinceau à poils fins et souples (martre, petit gris) pour les peintures plus liquides et les médiums aqueux (aquarelle, gouache).
  5. 5
    Touffes de poils qu’ont les jambes de devant des cerfs, des antilopes et aussi de celles que présente le tarse de certains insectes et notamment des abeilles.
  6. 6
    Touffe de poils, de soies ou de cheveux.
  7. 7
    Touffe de poils, de soies ou de cheveux.
  8. 8
    Touffe de poils, de soies ou de cheveux.
  9. 9
    Haie bordant un bois pour le protéger des vents, des animaux ; broussaille, terre inculte.
  10. 10
    Soûlerie.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bbrosse,borsse,brose,broses,brrosse,brsose,rbosse

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bbrosse1borsse2brose1broses2brrosse1brsose2rbosse2
Edit distance from "brosse"

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "brosse"?
"brosse" is spelled B-R-O-S-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is \bʁɔs\.
What does "brosse" mean?
As a noun, "brosse" means: Ustensile servant à nettoyer les vêtements, les meubles, etc., et fait ordinairement d’un assemblage de poils de cochon ou de sanglier, quelquefois de crins de cheval, de brins menus de bruyère ou ...
What words are commonly confused with "brosse"?
"brosse" is commonly confused with "broyé", "brousse", "brosser". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "brosse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "brosse" is \bʁɔs\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "brosse" come from?
"brosse" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “brosse”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is B-R-O-S-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \bʁɔs\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “broyé” - see the side-by-side comparison. brosse vs broyé
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French 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