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• mash
  mash

  verb (used with object)

  to crush.
• MASH
  MASH

  noun

  mobile army surgical hospital.

mash

¹ American  

[mash] / mæʃ /

verb (used with object)

1. to crush.

   He mashed his thumb with a hammer.

2. to reduce to a soft, pulpy mass, as by beating or pressure, especially in the preparation of food.

3. to mix (crushed malt or meal of grain) with hot water to form wort.

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noun

1. a soft, pulpy mass.

2. a pulpy condition.

3. a mixture of boiled grain, bran, meal, etc., fed warm to horses and cattle.

4. crushed malt or meal of grain mixed with hot water to form wort.

5. British Slang. mashed potatoes.

mash ² American  

[mash] / mæʃ /

noun

1. a flirtation or infatuation.

2. a person who seeks another's affection or who is the object of affection.

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verb (used with object)

1. to flirt with; court the affections of.

MASH ³ American  

[mash] / mæʃ /

noun

1. mobile army surgical hospital.

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mash ¹ British  

/ mæʃ /

noun

1. a soft pulpy mass or consistency

2. agriculture a feed of bran, meal, or malt mixed with water and fed to horses, cattle, or poultry

3. (esp in brewing) a mixture of mashed malt grains and hot water, from which malt is extracted

4. informal mashed potatoes

5. dialect a brew of tea

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verb

1. to beat or crush into a mash

2. to steep (malt grains) in hot water in order to extract malt, esp for making malt liquors

3. dialect to brew (tea)

4. archaic to flirt with

MASH ² British  

/ mæʃ /

acronym

1. Mobile Army Surgical Hospital

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Other Word Forms

• masher
  noun
• mashed
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of mash¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English mash- and Old English mǣsc-, noun used in compounds, as in Middle English mashfat and Old English mǣscfat “mash-vat,” and mǣscwyrt “mash wort”; cognate with German Maische

Origin of mash²

First recorded in 1870–75; originally theatrical argot; further origin uncertain; cf. flirt ( def. ), sweetheart, lover

Explanation

When you mash something, you crush it. You might, for example, mash a marshmallow by stepping on it. Recipes for banana bread almost always include an instruction to mash some bananas — in other words, you need to squish and press on them until they no longer look like bananas. A bully might mash your carefully constructed sandcastle, crushing it down to the beach. The word mash seems to be related to mix, both probably rooted in the Proto-Indo-European meik, "to mix."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mash MASH

I like my mash slightly chunky, with small bits of banana that add a nice chew to the oats.

From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026

Or they can mash the brakes and get an extension from the Internal Revenue Service.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 14, 2026

That’s the monster mash: ‘I am who I am.’

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2026

Mr. Cliff entered these contests early and began writing songs that were a mash of ska, rock-steady and calypso, globally popular then thanks to a string of hits by Harry Belafonte.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 24, 2025

When she wants to know if I’m from London, I say cheers and aye up and bangers and mash, in what I think is a pretty convincing accent.

From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven

Potthoff and his team are optimistic that this research could lead to new treatments for both obesity and MASH.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 16, 2026

Akero has a a drug in Phase 3 development for a treatment for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2025

Akero, based in South San Francisco, Calif., is developing a drug called EFX to treat MASH, a liver disease correlated with obesity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025

It was based on the 1968 book, "MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors," penned by an Army surgeon.

From BBC ● May 30, 2025

In addition, studies have shown that Ozempic and Mounjaro could reverse MASH, even with inflammation and fibrosis.

From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2024

Related Words

• chew
• crush
• grind
• scrunch
• squeeze
• squish