copse
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of copse
First recorded in 1570–80; alteration of coppice
Explanation
A copse is a thicket of bushes or a small stand of trees. A copse of trees can provide a good hiding place during a game of hide-and-seek. If you go to your local garden shop and ask about how to take care of your copse, you may get some blank stares, as it's not a word you'll find much in everyday use. The word first appeared in the late 16th century, as a shortened form of coppice, a word still used in British English, referring to an area with trees or shrubs that are periodically cut back to the ground so that they grow back thicker.
Vocabulary lists containing copse
Stump Speech: Tree Terminology
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Beloved
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Crime and Punishment
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar had crashed into the back of Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes - completely unsighted in the spray - and gone off at Copse.
From BBC • Jul. 8, 2025
Verstappen gets away from pole but Hamilton draws on all his speed to stay with him heading into Copse — the fastest corner at Silverstone — and tries to overtake.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 11, 2021
He was leading the British GP from pole position and was sent flying off track by a risky Hamilton overtaking move at the lightning-fast Copse corner that led to a time penalty.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 25, 2021
Verstappen suffered an impact of 51G when he hit the barriers at the 190mph Copse corner and was taken to hospital for tests.
From BBC • Jul. 29, 2021
One of these patrols, led by a certain Captain Orchis, discovered a small warren two miles to the east, beyond the Kingsclere-Overton road, on the outskirts of Nutley Copse.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
