hash
1 Americannoun
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a dish of diced or chopped meat and often vegetables, as of leftover corned beef or veal and potatoes, sautéed in a frying pan, or of meat, potatoes, and carrots cooked together in gravy.
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a mess, jumble, or muddle.
a hash of unorganized facts and figures.
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a reworking of old and familiar material.
This essay is a hash of several earlier and better works.
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Computers.
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Radio and Television Slang. electrical noise on an analog radio or, appearing as snow, in an analog television picture, caused by interfering outside sources that generate sparking.
verb (used with object)
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hashes,
present (3rd person singular)
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hashed,
past participle, past
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hashing
present participle
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to chop into small pieces; make into hash; mince.
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to muddle or mess up.
We thought we knew our parts, but when the play began we hashed the whole thing.
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to discuss or review (something) thoroughly (often followed byout ).
They hashed out every aspect of the issue.
verb phrase
idioms
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settle someone's hash, to stop, silence, or subdue.
If she keeps badmouthing me, I'm going to have to settle her hash.
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make a hash of, to spoil or botch.
The new writer made a hash of his first assignment.
noun
noun
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a dish of diced cooked meat, vegetables, etc, reheated in a sauce
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something mixed up
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a reuse or rework of old material
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informal
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to mix or mess up
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to defeat or destroy
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informal to subdue or silence someone
verb
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to chop into small pieces
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to mix or mess up
noun
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the character (#) used to precede a number
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this sign used in printing or writing to indicate that a space should be inserted
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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hashsimple
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hashessimple
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have hashedperfect
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has hashedperfect
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am hashingprogressive
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are hashingprogressive
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is hashingprogressive
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have been hashingperfect progressive
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has been hashingperfect progressive
Past
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hashedsimple
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had hashedperfect
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was hashingprogressive
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were hashingprogressive
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had been hashingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hash1
First recorded in 1645–55; from French hacher “to cut up,” derivative of hache “ax,” see hatchet
Origin of hash2
By shortening
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:
PC Harper's mother Debbie Adlam told BBC Breakfast the handling of the situation had been a "hash".
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, who is overseeing the high-profile case, issued a temporary restraining order to block the merger from finalizing while the two sides hash out the evidence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Paramount Caviar’s kosher salmon roe adds a delicious salty, briny pop to deviled eggs, hash browns with whipped cream cheese and dill, or toast points with crème fraîche.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
The U.S. and Iran are in the midst of a 60-day pause in fighting to hash out a longer term peace deal.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
The pilgrim, a professor, a monk, and some sort of hermit all meet and hash over things.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
The decision comes as the trade court hashes out refunding the more than $166 billion it collected in the tariffs the Supreme Court had previously invalidated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
The busy brunch spot offers something for everyone, with a variety of bowls, hashes, benedicts, and omelets.
From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2025
Hash matching is where media is given a unique digital signature which can be checked against hashes belonging to known content - in this case, databases of known CSAM.
From BBC ● Dec. 16, 2024
It was, “Hey, you’ve got between the hashes, Gates. Do whatever you want.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2024
Lorren brought out a pen and drew a series of hashes through my single line of writing in the ledger book.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
Concerns heightened among activists after one of the two proposed settlements, hashed out between Charter and Commissioner Matthew Baker, the commission’s Public Advocates Office and the California Emerging Technology Fund, failed to include diversity efforts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
“We hashed it out. And it was hard. It is like a marriage. You go through these ups and downs, and try to understand your partner.”
From Salon ● Jan. 21, 2026
Whatever is happening on the internet or being hashed out in the day’s headlines, what I’m watching will feel way more inspiring, exhilarating and important.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025
Over the weekend, trade negotiators from both sides in Malaysia hashed out a preliminary framework agreement for the two leaders to discuss to defuse recent tensions.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2025
“Okay. We’ve hashed out costumes, props, and music,” said Mr. Jackson.
From "George" by Alex Gino
Marc Rosen criticized Finra rules for requiring employees to enter into arbitration over matters that don’t involve securities, and for allowing banks to assume former employees’ clients while hashing out employment disputes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Sheinbaum has responded to Trump's often harsh rhetoric about Mexican drug cartels and migration with what analysts dub "silent diplomacy" -- hashing out issues behind closed doors.
From Barron's ● Nov. 26, 2025
Both sides had spent months hashing out a deal over the use of AI to replicate an actor's performance - and "guardrails" to prevent this from happening.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2025
Months removed from the initial launch, the duo is working on hashing out what the future of their effort will look like.
From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2025
I didn’t sleep much that night, hashing and rehashing the next morning’s strategy.
From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer
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.
