I believe the Uruk-hai orcs were orcs mixed with humans, and they were all around better than normal orcs. I don't think there's any real difference between goblins and orcs--the terms, I believe, are interchangeable, though I have heard some people say that a goblin is just a smaller, quicker orc.

Tolkien barely seperated the two. Throughout the novels, he called the Uruks "orcs", making me really think there's no real difference between them. Plus, just once he gave a discription of their size, but it was so vague, I barely took them seriously. Thank goodness Jackson made them look huge and awsome.

Well since we are all having JoyGasms over the films that said the Urikhai were better then the orcs (even though the orcs never were as horribly owned as the Urikah) I belive the main difference is that Urikhai were manufactured by Sarumon.

I think the Uhru-kai were once elves that were captured, enslaved, and tortured, but I don't remember Tolkein mentioning anything from that point to when Sauruman changed them into the Uru-khai. It's been a few years since I read the books. There was a battle between the orcs and goblins, so they must have been separate.

(I don't know the right spelling, either.)

The original orcs were elves that were captured and twisted, but not by Sauron, by Morgoth. It's been a while since I read the books, but I don't recall a battle between the orcs and goblins, and I thought I had read somewhere that they were the same. :-/

I'm pretty sure it's spelled Uruk-hai.

Battle is the wrong word. It was more of a big fight or brawl. I think the orcs are larger than goblins, but I don't remember reading that they are the same. But I don't claim perfect recall.

I always thought they were goblins and orcs mixed and sauromon did crazy stuff to them to make them fighters.