mash
verb (used with object)
to crush.
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Mashing.
mash
1 American
[mash]
/ mæʃ /
verb (used with object)
-
to crush.
He mashed his thumb with a hammer.
-
to reduce to a soft, pulpy mass, as by beating or pressure, especially in the preparation of food.
-
to mix (crushed malt or meal of grain) with hot water to form wort.
noun
-
a soft, pulpy mass.
-
a pulpy condition.
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a mixture of boiled grain, bran, meal, etc., fed warm to horses and cattle.
-
crushed malt or meal of grain mixed with hot water to form wort.
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British Slang. mashed potatoes.
mash
2
American
[mash]
/ mæʃ /
noun
-
a flirtation or infatuation.
-
a person who seeks another's affection or who is the object of affection.
verb (used with object)
MASH
3
American
[mash]
/ mæʃ /
noun
mash
1
British
/ mæʃ /
noun
-
a soft pulpy mass or consistency
-
agriculture a feed of bran, meal, or malt mixed with water and fed to horses, cattle, or poultry
-
(esp in brewing) a mixture of mashed malt grains and hot water, from which malt is extracted
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informal mashed potatoes
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dialect a brew of tea
verb
-
to beat or crush into a mash
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to steep (malt grains) in hot water in order to extract malt, esp for making malt liquors
-
dialect to brew (tea)
-
archaic to flirt with
MASH
2
British
/ mæʃ /
acronym
Other Word Forms
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."
Vocabulary lists containing mash
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:
A guidepost of Chilean hyper-pop, it is also a heart-wrenching mash of tenderness and distortion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
Tucking into pie, mash and liquor is the latest family to migrate to the Essex coast.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Or they can mash the brakes and get an extension from the Internal Revenue Service.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 14, 2026
Or, mash up some avocado and swap it in for the cream cheese, untraditional, but oh so yummy.
From Salon ● Dec. 4, 2025
“Absolutely. These Nexus-6 types...they’d roll all over us and mash us flat. You and I, all the bounty hunters—we stand between the Nexus-6 and mankind, a barrier which keeps the two distinct. Furthermore—”
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
When these cells become overactive, they can contribute to the inflammatory processes associated with MASH.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 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
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
