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:
Ours is one of many organizations—Interfaith America, C&S and the Constructive Dialogue Institute, to name a few—that create space for young people to hash out disagreements and listen to one another.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Many companies, he said, meet monthly to hash out ideas.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
The first session Goodpaster had with the 16 players who showed up involved teaching them what a hash mark was.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
After the initial flip-flopping on whether the government would be able to exempt more prisoners, the mother of PC Harper told BBC Breakfast that the handling of the situation had been a "hash".
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
Where Lefty obtained the hash is anybody’s guess.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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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
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I wrote in my journal for, like, two hours, and just hashed it all out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
It would be included in the state budget that is currently being hashed out between the governor and leaders of both the state Senate and Assembly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
At issue is the so-called Turnberry Agreement, named after a Trump-owned golf resort in Scotland where the terms were hashed out last July.
From Barron's ● Mar. 7, 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
Soon he began to hear hashed words, and he strained to catch the language.
From "The Fighting Ground" by Avi
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The mismatch in priorities isn’t new, and the last attempt at hashing out differences over AI is a cautionary tale.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
I take this to mean she uses it as the equivalent of hashing out an idea with a colleague or source.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
I tried to change the subject and reset the mood, but he insisted we keep hashing it out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 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
There was no point hashing it out now, right before certain death.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
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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.