gorse

American  

[gawrs] / gɔrs /

noun

1. any spiny shrub of the genus Ulex, of the legume family, native to the Old World, especially U. europaeus, having rudimentary leaves and yellow flowers and growing in waste places and sandy soil.

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gorse British  

/ ɡɔːs /

noun

1. Also called: furze, whin. any evergreen shrub of the leguminous genus Ulex, esp the European species U. europeaus, which has yellow flowers and thick green spines instead of leaves

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Other Word Forms

• gorsy
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of gorse

before 900; Middle English gorst, Old English; akin to German Gerste, Latin hordeum barley

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gorse

It has been doing that through grazing cattle, which eat the vegetation, while in other areas land managers have used machines to cut and mulch the grass, gorse, bracken and heather.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Herd manager Will Harford-Fox said the goats would eat species cattle missed, including gorse, blackthorn and brambles.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

"I forgot to change the ball and promptly hit it into the gorse, never to be seen again," David said of his first hole-in-one on the fourth hole at the Open Championship venue in Hoylake.

From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026

Covering 57,000 hectares of peatland, gorse, heathland, and forest, the Mournes stretches from Northern Ireland's tallest mountain Slieve Donard, to the coastline of County Down.

From BBC ● May 2, 2026

There was someone on the other side of the gorse bush, watching him.

From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman

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Related Words

• scrub
• thicket

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