mushroom
Americannoun
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mushrooms
plural
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any of various fleshy fungi including the toadstools, puffballs, coral fungi, morels, etc.
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any of several edible species, especially of the family Agaricaceae, as Agaricus campestris meadow mushroom, or field mushroom, cultivated for food in the U.S.
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anything of similar shape or correspondingly rapid growth.
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a large, mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke or rubble, formed in the atmosphere as a result of an explosion, especially a nuclear explosion.
adjective
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of, consisting of, or containing mushrooms.
a mushroom omelet.
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resembling a mushroom in shape or form.
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of rapid growth and often brief duration.
mushroom towns of the gold-rush days.
verb (used without object)
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mushrooms,
present (3rd person singular)
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mushroomed,
past participle, past
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mushrooming
present participle
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to spread, grow, or develop quickly.
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to gather mushrooms.
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to have or assume the shape of a mushroom.
noun
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the fungus producing any of these structures
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something resembling a mushroom in shape or rapid growth
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( as modifier )
mushroom expansion
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verb
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to grow rapidly
demand mushroomed overnight
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to assume a mushroom-like shape
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to gather mushrooms
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Any of various fungi that produce a fleshy fruiting body, which usually consists of a stalk topped by an umbrella-shaped cap. Many mushrooms are basidiomycetes. Some species of mushrooms are edible, though many are poisonous. The term mushroom is often applied to the stalk and cap alone.
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See more at basidiomycete
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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mushroomsimple
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mushroomssimple
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have mushroomedperfect
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has mushroomedperfect
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am mushroomingprogressive
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are mushroomingprogressive
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is mushroomingprogressive
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have been mushroomingperfect progressive
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has been mushroomingperfect progressive
Past
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mushroomedsimple
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had mushroomedperfect
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was mushroomingprogressive
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were mushroomingprogressive
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had been mushroomingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mushroom
First recorded in 1350–1400; alteration (by folk etymology) of Middle English muscheron, musseroun, from Middle French mousseron, ultimately from Late Latin mussiriōn-, stem of mussiriō
Explanation
A mushroom is the main body of a certain type of fungus. Edible mushrooms include portobellos and shiitakes. Don't mess around with the inedible types. Walk in the woods after a few days of rain, and you're sure to see mushrooms growing from the damp forest floor. Mushrooms like moist environments, and many mushrooms also grow incredibly fast, which is where the verb form of mushroom, "grow and spread quickly," comes from. The word's origin is ultimately uncertain, although some experts believe it's related to the French mousse, or "moss."
Vocabulary lists containing mushroom
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 disease can also lower crop yields and shorten shelf life, making it a costly challenge for mushroom farms across the United States.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
These approaches could eventually offer mushroom growers additional tools for controlling bacterial blotch while reducing their reliance on conventional chemical treatments.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
Unsworth, who runs Forest Horizons in Adlington, said fly agaric, the distinctive red mushroom with white spots, and blushers had been found in good numbers.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Warner Bros. is a top operator and yet has been passed around like a dented can of mushroom soup.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
How could a mushroom, a being without a brain or blood or a heart, have a personality?
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Adding to the difficulty, visible symptoms sometimes develop only after mushrooms have been shipped to grocery stores or purchased by consumers.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
To investigate what was causing the disease, the research team collected affected mushrooms from several production facilities across the southern United States.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
Porcini mushrooms, also known as penny buns or ceps, had been "a bit thin on the ground", he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Have you spotted more mushrooms than usual on woodland walks or in your garden this autumn?
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Blusher mushrooms aren’t dangerous if you don’t drink the red liquid.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
Shortly after I graduated from college, the internet became a global presence, and claims on my attention and everyone else’s mushroomed into a multitude of distractions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
What began in 1995 as Parton's modest giveaway of 6,000 books to needy children has mushroomed into an operation involving hundreds of local groups and multiple publishers.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
That all changed as the Premier League's global appeal mushroomed.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Since last fall, when Kakaiya began selling the model, clinician interest has mushroomed.
From Slate ● Jun. 7, 2026
During the following weeks, the Mother Paula’s story mushroomed into a full-blown scandal.
From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
New data centres -- warehouse-like facilities that store online files and power AI tools from chatbots to image generators -- are mushrooming worldwide, and the sector is growing particularly fast in Asia.
From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026
In nursing homes mushrooming across the Mexican border, elderly Americans are turning up for low-cost care.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
Drug deductibles—the amount you pay up front before coverage kicks in—are mushrooming for many.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2025
Moreover, the rule addressed a marketing process that is destined to keep mushrooming.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2025
Anthony told me that we were going to be joined by someone they’d met at the burn the week before, a young guy known to them only by his mushrooming nickname: Paulie Porcini.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
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