Meaning & use
thorn bushes
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Meaning
nounplural
bushes that have sharp, pointed parts on their stems and branches
Grammar: Usually plural when referring to several bushes or a dense area. The singular is 'thorn bush'.
Patterns
- thorn bushes grow
- cut back thorn bushes
- a thicket of thorn bushes
- covered in thorn bushes
The path was blocked by thick thorn bushes.
Birds often nest in thorn bushes for protection.
We had to cut back the thorn bushes to clear the garden.
Word forms
| singular | thorn bush |
|---|
Common combinations
- thorn bushes grow
- Thorn bushes grow quickly in this climate.
- cut back thorn bushes
- He spent the afternoon cutting back thorn bushes.
- tangled thorn bushes
- The dog got stuck in the tangled thorn bushes.
- a hedge of thorn bushes
- They planted a hedge of thorn bushes along the fence.
Synonyms and how they differ
- brambles
- Specifically blackberry bushes, which are a type of thorn bush; not all thorn bushes are brambles.
- briers
- Wild thorny bushes, often used in literary contexts; similar but less common than 'thorn bushes'.
Word family
- thorn noun
- A sharp pointed growth on a plant.
- thorny adjective
- Having many thorns; also used figuratively for difficult issues.
Commonly confused: thorn bushes or throne?
thorn bushes vs throne
A ceremonial chair for a king or queen. 'Thorn' has no 'e' and refers to a sharp point on a plant.
Practice
The hikers had to push through dense ___ to reach the river.
Choose one answer.
The plural 'thorn bushes' is needed here to match 'dense' and the plural idea. 'Thorn bush' is singular; the other options are misspelled.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “thorn bushes”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.