marshmallow
Americannoun
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marshmallows
plural
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a sweetened paste or confection made from the mucilaginous root of the marsh mallow.
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a similar confection, usually soft and spongy, made from gum arabic or gelatin, sugar, corn syrup, and flavoring.
noun
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a sweet of a spongy texture containing gum arabic or gelatine, sugar, etc
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a sweetened paste or confection made from the root of the marsh mallow
Usage
What is the Marshmallow Test? The Marshmallow Test is a famous psychological test performed on young children in the 1960s linking delayed gratification (a treat right now … or two later?) to success later in life. A 2018 replication notably concluded, though, that socioeconomic background significantly influenced the ability of children to delay their gratification. So the test was biased.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of marshmallow
First recorded in 1905–10; see origin at marsh mallow
Explanation
A marshmallow is a sweet, soft treat. Marshmallows are sometimes melted and turned into a sugary topping for ice cream or a filling for baked goods. Marshmallows are made of gelatin and sugar, with a dusty powdered sugar surface, and they squish like a sponge when you squeeze or bite down on them. Marshmallows can be toasted over a fire to turn them slightly crisp on the outside and melty within, and sandwiched between graham crackers with chocolate to make a "s'more." The original 19th century marshmallows were made from a plant called mersc-mealwe (marsh mallow plant) in Old English.
Vocabulary lists containing marshmallow
Commonly Misspelled Words, List 2
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocabulary for February 4–February 10, 2023
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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.
See Examples For:
The floor also highlights science at the White House, including an “extreme marshmallow cannon” brought there by a 14-year-old inventor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
The S’mores cookies, graham cracker sandwich cookies with chocolate and marshmallow filling, were introduced during the 2017 Girl Scout cookie season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2025
The chocolate-covered marshmallow treats had apparently been all the rage prior to this - being eaten by crewmen as they flew nuclear bombers on long training sorties at the height of the Cold War.
From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2025
But even his nonsensible marshmallow responses to her didn’t matter.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2024
“Why put a perfectly soft, sweet, warm marshmallow between graham crackers? I don’t get it,” says DeShon, munching as he toasts three marshmallows at a time.
From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
As Joanne Kaufman writes, “What would summer on the beach be without chocolate and marshmallows between graham crackers—or without angst and wish fulfillment between book covers?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
He’s just some mud-brown monstrosity roaming the Vale of Arryn and treating livestock like campfire marshmallows.
From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026
It's all the fun of camping - sleeping under the stars, waking up to beautiful views and toasting marshmallows round an open fire - but with creature comforts.
From BBC ● May 8, 2026
Her Little Flower Cafe became a popular Pasadena gathering spot where caramels and marshmallows became hot gifts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2026
Kyle and Miguel were sitting in the Olympia Village dining room, pushing the bobbing yellow marshmallows around in their Lucky Lemoncello Lumps cereal bowls.
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
