lush
1 Americanadjective
-
(of vegetation) abounding in lavish growth
-
(esp of fruits) succulent and fleshy
-
luxurious, elaborate, or opulent
noun
-
a heavy drinker, esp an alcoholic
-
alcoholic drink
verb
Other Word Forms
- lushly adverb
- lushness noun
Etymology
Origin of lush1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English lusch “slack”; of disputed origin; perhaps cognate with Old English lysu “bad,” lēas “lax,” Middle Low German lasch “slack,” Old Norse lǫskr “weak,” Gothic lasiws “weak”; alternatively, perhaps from Old French lasche “cowardly, loose,” adjective derivative of laschier “to loosen,” from Late Latin laxicāre, derivative of laxāre; relax ( def. )
Origin of lush2
First recorded in 1780–90; perhaps facetious application of lush 1
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.
Was the pitch, covered in a lush 10mm of grass, suitable for Test cricket?
From BBC
Nestled in the rolling hills and lush vineyards of California wine country, Costco has emerged as the center of the local wine world.
Humanity, which has gained the capability of time travel, lives among the clouds, collecting extinct flora from the past to populate lush, green gardens on elevated platforms while Earth undergoes a healing process below.
From Los Angeles Times
When the floods spill over Botswana’s Okavango Delta every year, fat antelopes congregate in lush grazing grounds and big predators treat the islands like snack bars.
And I wanted there to be a believable, lush world.
From Los Angeles Times
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.