mushroom
Americannoun
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any of various fleshy fungi including the toadstools, puffballs, coral fungi, morels, etc.
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any of several edible species, especially of the family Agaricaceae, as Agaricus campestris meadow mushroom, or field mushroom, cultivated for food in the U.S.
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anything of similar shape or correspondingly rapid growth.
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a large, mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke or rubble, formed in the atmosphere as a result of an explosion, especially a nuclear explosion.
adjective
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of, consisting of, or containing mushrooms.
a mushroom omelet.
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resembling a mushroom in shape or form.
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of rapid growth and often brief duration.
mushroom towns of the gold-rush days.
verb (used without object)
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to spread, grow, or develop quickly.
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to gather mushrooms.
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to have or assume the shape of a mushroom.
noun
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the fungus producing any of these structures
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something resembling a mushroom in shape or rapid growth
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( as modifier )
mushroom expansion
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verb
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to grow rapidly
demand mushroomed overnight
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to assume a mushroom-like shape
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to gather mushrooms
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Any of various fungi that produce a fleshy fruiting body, which usually consists of a stalk topped by an umbrella-shaped cap. Many mushrooms are basidiomycetes. Some species of mushrooms are edible, though many are poisonous. The term mushroom is often applied to the stalk and cap alone.
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See more at basidiomycete
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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mushroomsimple
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mushroomssimple
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have mushroomedperfect
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has mushroomedperfect
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am mushroomingprogressive
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are mushroomingprogressive
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is mushroomingprogressive
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have been mushroomingperfect progressive
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has been mushroomingperfect progressive
Past
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mushroomedsimple
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had mushroomedperfect
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was mushroomingprogressive
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were mushroomingprogressive
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had been mushroomingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mushroom
First recorded in 1350–1400; alteration (by folk etymology) of Middle English muscheron, musseroun, from Middle French mousseron, ultimately from Late Latin mussiriōn-, stem of mussiriō
Explanation
A mushroom is the main body of a certain type of fungus. Edible mushrooms include portobellos and shiitakes. Don't mess around with the inedible types. Walk in the woods after a few days of rain, and you're sure to see mushrooms growing from the damp forest floor. Mushrooms like moist environments, and many mushrooms also grow incredibly fast, which is where the verb form of mushroom, "grow and spread quickly," comes from. The word's origin is ultimately uncertain, although some experts believe it's related to the French mousse, or "moss."
Vocabulary lists containing mushroom
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
During a nighttime field survey, researchers initially mistook the animal for a mushroom, highlighting just how convincing its disguise is.
From Science Daily • Jun. 17, 2026
The restaurant makes eight varieties of potstickers in-house, including kimchi pork, curry chicken, butternut squash and shrimp, and vegan options like tofu with mushroom and kale.
From Salon • Jun. 11, 2026
On May 28, a fiery mushroom cloud enveloped Cape Canaveral as New Glenn’s engine malfunctioned during a pre-flight test, blowing up the rocket, launch pad and other nearby infrastructure.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 10, 2026
Officials said death caps in particular have been the culprit behind a majority of cases, but there are no data on precisely how many are associated with each particular wild mushroom.
From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2026
Wildflowers grew in the fallen houses; where the corpses of goblin families had fallen, there were mushroom clumps.
From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
