thornbush

thorn·bush
T1H4O1R1N1B3U1S1H4
Australia, New Zealand, UK/ˈθɔːnˌbʊʃ/British, Southern, Standard/ˈθɔːnˌbɵʃ/Scotland/ˈθɔɹnˌbʊʃ/Scotland, traditional/-ˌbʌʃ/

noun

Any of many thorny or spiny shrubs and bushes.

Similar
thornshrub
OriginProto-Germanic *þurnaz →
Scrabble 17
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Meanings

nounthornbush (plural thornbushes)

plural thornbushes

  1. Any of many thorny or spiny shrubs and bushes.

    “Meanwhile thornbush sprung wild around the house overnight.”

    2019, Marlon James, Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Hamish Hamilton, page 261

    Synonyms: thornshrub

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAny of many thorny or spiny shrubs and bushes.

Similar
thornshrub
Also see
thornshrub

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*þurnaz
  2. Englishthornbush

Compound of thorn + bush. Cognate with Dutch doornbos, German Dornbusch and Swedish törnbuske, all meaning the same and having the same elements (stemming from Proto-Germanic *þurnaz + *buskaz), thus they either share a common Germanic root or are calques of the German word.

More words from Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ῥάμνος
  • ῥάμνος (rhámnos)thorny shrub or bush
Arabic شَوْك
  • شَوْك (šawk)thorny shrub or bush
Bulgarian шипка
  • шипка (šipka)thorny shrub or bush
Catalan bardissa, bruc
  • bardissathorny shrub or bush
  • bructhorny shrub or bush
Czech trní
  • trníthorny shrub or bush
Dutch doornstruik, doornbos
  • doornstruikthorny shrub or bush
  • doornbosthorny shrub or bush
Esperanto dornarbusto
  • dornarbustothorny shrub or bush
Finnish piikkipensas
  • piikkipensasthorny shrub or bush
French buisson épineux, épineux
  • buisson épineuxthorny shrub or bush
  • épineuxthorny shrub or bush
  • bruyèrethorny shrub or bush
German Dornbusch
  • Dornbuschthorny shrub or bush
Greek ρείκι
  • ρείκι (reíki)thorny shrub or bush
Hungarian tüskebokor
  • tüskebokorthorny shrub or bush
Irish sceach, sceacha
  • sceachthorny shrub or bush
  • sceachathorny shrub or bush
  • dristhorny shrub or bush
Italian rovo, spino
  • rovothorny shrub or bush
  • spinothorny shrub or bush
Latin veprēs, sentis
  • veprēsthorny shrub or bush
  • sentisthorny shrub or bush
Māori tairo, taraheke
  • tairothorny shrub or bush
  • tarahekethorny shrub or bush
  • taramoathorny shrub or bush
  • tātarāmoathorny shrub or bush
Persian خاربوته, تلو
  • خاربوته (xârbute)thorny shrub or bush
  • تلو (talu)thorny shrub or bush
  • مغیلان (moġilân)thorny shrub or bush
Portuguese espinheiro, sarça
  • espinheirothorny shrub or bush
  • sarçathorny shrub or bush
Romanian rug, mărăcine
  • rugthorny shrub or bush
  • mărăcinethorny shrub or bush
Russian терно́вник, шипо́вник
  • терно́вник (ternóvnik)thorny shrub or bush
  • шипо́вник (šipóvnik)thorny shrub or bush
Scottish Gaelic dris, dreas
  • dristhorny shrub or bush
  • dreasthorny shrub or bush
Slovak tŕnie
  • tŕniethorny shrub or bush
Spanish zarzal, brezo
  • zarzalthorny shrub or bush
  • brezothorny shrub or bush
Swedish törnbuske, taggbuske
  • törnbuskethorny shrub or bush
  • taggbuskethorny shrub or bush
  • törnethorny shrub or bush
Welsh miaren, mieri
  • miarenthorny shrub or bush
  • mierithorny shrub or bush

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with thornbush

pushmushswooshkushcushtushwhooshshushsmushshooshTatamagouchesqushmooshHindu KushMiscouchesquooshsquushzhoosh
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

thornbush. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thornbush

MLA

“thornbush.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thornbush. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “thornbush,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thornbush.

Source: thornbush on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.