slush
Americannoun
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partly melted snow.
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liquid mud; watery mire.
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waste, as fat, grease, or other refuse, from the galley of a ship.
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a mixture of grease and other materials for lubricating.
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silly, sentimental, or weakly emotional talk or writing.
romantic slush.
verb (used with object)
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to splash with slush.
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to grease, polish, or cover with slush.
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to fill or cover with mortar or cement.
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to wash with a large quantity of water, as by dashing it on.
noun
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any watery muddy substance, esp melting snow
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informal sloppily sentimental language
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nautical waste fat from the galley of a ship
verb
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to make one's way through or as if through slush
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(intr) to make a slushing sound
Other Word Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have slushedperfect
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has slushedperfect 3rd person singular
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are slushingprogressive
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is slushingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am slushingprogressive 1st person singular
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slushingparticiple
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slushessingular 3rd person
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have been slushingperfect progressive
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has been slushingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had slushedperfect
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was slushingprogressive singular
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had been slushingperfect progressive
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were slushingprogressive plural
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slushedparticiple
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slushedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of slush
1635–45; apparently cognate with Norwegian slusk slops, Swedish slask mud, slops
Explanation
Slush is messy melted snow, a mixture of ice and water. If you forget to wear your waterproof boots, you'll want to watch out for the slush as you walk through the city in February. Slush forms when snow melts slightly, leaving behind a substance that's similar to snow, but wetter. A sweet, icy drink is also a slush or a slushy, while a "slush pile" is a heap of manuscripts and letters that are sent, unsolicited, to a publisher. And a "slush fund" is either an extra, backup bank account, or a secret one full of illegally obtained money. One thing is for sure: slush is messy.
Vocabulary lists containing slush
"It Happened in Montgomery"
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"Abuela Invents the Zero" and "Karate"
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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.
Dahlia Lithwick: If you put “American politics as usual” in some imaginary halcyon past at 1 and Watergate at 10, where’s this slush fund scandal registering for you?
From Slate • May 26, 2026
Takaichi replaced Shigeru Ishiba, whose one-year leadership saw voter discontent simmer over inflation and a slush fund scandal within the party.
From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026
A silver-metallic Corvette E-Ray has been sitting in front of my house for days, bored out of its mind, icy slush gathering in its side-mounted intercoolers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025
On Aug. 1, federal prosecutors filing a legal brief alleging that taxpayer funds from the county went into a slush fund held by a shell company to help pay for its illegal activities.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 20, 2025
As you’ll remember, Nixon was at bay after a slush fund established to pay his election expenses was exposed in the press.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
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.
