gorse

UK: /ˈgɔː^rs/ US: /gɔrs/ ,(gôrs)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

gorse /gɔrs/   n. [uncountable]

1. Plant Biology a spiny European evergreen shrub of the legume family, having primitive leaves and yellow flowers.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

gorse  (gôrs), n. 

1. Plant Biology any spiny shrub of the genus Ulex, of the legume family, native to the Old World, esp. U. europaeus, having rudimentary leaves and yellow flowers and growing in waste places and sandy soil. Also called furze;
    [esp. Brit.,] whin. 

• bef. 900; Middle English gorst, Old English; akin to German Gerste, Latin hordeum barley

gors′y, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

gorse / ɡɔːs/ noun

1. 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
   Also called: furze, whin

Etymology: Old English gors; related to Old Irish garb rough, Latin horrēre to bristle, Old High German gersta barley, Greek khēr hedgehog

ˈgorsy adjective