copses

noun

plural of copse
as in bushes
a thick patch of shrubbery, small trees, or underbrush a small copse of trees shaded the back of the house

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of copses The vegetation is mostly grassland, which shines with an almost alien-green intensity in the spring, dotted with copses of twisted oak and buckeye trees. — John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 4 May 2026 Walk in forests where dragonflies buzz and orchids bloom in secret copses. — Lydia Bell, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Jan. 2026 The Aquitaine countryside unfolds in a collage of khaki, tan, and green, dotted with little ponds and copses of trees. — Anna Gaca, Pitchfork, 1 Oct. 2025 Its 46 rooms have big picture windows that look onto copses of color-changing trees and cabin vibes from plenty of blonde wood. — Chloe Arrojado, AFAR Media, 25 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for copses
  1. forests
  2. groves
  3. thickets
  4. woods
Noun
  • Lange said preserving forests around reservoirs helps keep drinking water clean while reducing treatment costs for cities and towns.
    — Aaron Parseghian, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026
  • The initiative pays developing countries to keep forests standing but has struggled to secure an initial $10 billion by year’s end.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of forests
Noun
  • Then, just nine months later, came the collision Wednesday morning that turned a sleepy stretch of rail lined by olive groves near the village of Urda into a scene of carnage.
    — Joseph Wilson, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2026
  • The collision Wednesday morning that turned a sleepy stretch of rail lined by olive groves into a scene of carnage came just four weeks before the country votes in a national election.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of groves
Noun
  • The original computers were essentially thickets of light bulbs.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Finally the buck turned, bounded up on top of the bank, still in thickets where no arrow could get through, and started to walk around my tree.
    — Al Dawson, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of thickets
Noun
  • In an elaborate fairy-tale takeoff, Homer abandons Bart and Lisa in the middle of the woods to help solve the family’s food-shortage problem.
    — Joshua Kurp, Vulture, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Until this day in the woods, Dad, too, had treated my weight as her problem.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of woods

Browse Nearby Words

copse
copses
cops out
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Copses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/copses. Accessed 3 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of candidate

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

Ten More Words from Taylor Swift Songs

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
couple-laugh-cafe
Quiz: Foreign Phrases You Should Know Check out your bona fides and avoid any faux pas.
See All