lush
1 Americanadjective
adjective
-
(of vegetation) abounding in lavish growth
-
(esp of fruits) succulent and fleshy
-
luxurious, elaborate, or opulent
noun
-
a heavy drinker, esp an alcoholic
-
alcoholic drink
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of lush1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English lusch “slack”; of disputed origin; perhaps cognate with Old English lysu “bad,” lēas “lax,” Middle Low German lasch “slack,” Old Norse lǫskr “weak,” Gothic lasiws “weak”; alternatively, perhaps from Old French lasche “cowardly, loose,” adjective derivative of laschier “to loosen,” from Late Latin laxicāre, derivative of laxāre; see relax ( def. )
Origin of lush2
First recorded in 1780–90; perhaps facetious application of lush 1
Explanation
Lush describes something growing in abundance, like the lush green grass that covers the lawn in the spring. Lush usually describes thick healthy plant growth, like the jungles of the rainforest that were so lush you couldn't walk through without chopping down branches. (Then it wasn't so lush anymore...oops!) Lush also means "plush" or even "extravagant" — like a thick shag carpet, music with lots of layers, or a bedroom wallpapered in velvet. Plants full of juice are lush, which is perhaps why a person who drinks too much alcohol is called a lush.
Vocabulary lists containing lush
The Vernal Vocabulary of Spring
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Things They Carried
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Fallen Angels
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
For decades, so much water has been taken that the river seldom meets the sea in Mexico, and its delta, once filled with lush wetlands and forests, has shriveled to stretches of dry riverbed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
It's a real-life dating retreat held at an 8th Century Buddhist temple nestled in the lush greenery of South Korea's Palgongsan mountain.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
In an early scene in “Othello” the title character recalls in lush language how his recounting of the daring and dangerous exploits he endured as a warrior transfixed and moved his new wife, Desdemona:
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Set on a beautifully lush plot, the home blends rustic charm with modern luxury, welcoming guests with exposed brick walls, soaring wood-beamed ceilings, an open-concept layout, and thoughtfully updated finishes throughout.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
It was a lush and mysterious landscape, a dense wood of dizzyingly tall fir trees that covered the rolling mountains like a living blanket of green.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
I suspect Nick will finally come out of the closet, and those East Egg lushes will reappear in the 1420s, the 1720s and space.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 28, 2020
There's a late-night grilled cheese place just a few blocks down the street from my apartment up here in Canada, one frequented by the local students and lushes on weekend evenings.
From The Verge ● Apr. 8, 2016
If we ever launch a space capsule documenting the drinking traditions of Earth for the benefit of extraterrestrial lushes, we should choose this one to represent the bloody mary.
From Slate ● Dec. 31, 2014
Titans is a retread, clogged with louche lushes in tuxes and gowns, its old-money family saga as tired as the Williams bloodline.
From Time Magazine Archive
There he stood now, his right hand out, palm upward, his lips curled in the ghastly imitation of a smile, blue gums and yellow lushes showing, a sight to freeze the blood with horror.
From Darkness and Dawn by England, George Allan
Some of the lusher scraps—velvets, taffetas, silks, lace—I turned into sumptuous ballgowns for my sister’s proto-Barbie doll.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2025
Muddier hues give way to lusher colors as they go deeper into the abandoned streets of Boston.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2023
Hoylake was parched when Woods won in 2006, famously using his driver just once over the four days, while McIlroy triumphed on a lusher course after third-round rainstorms.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2023
That has left parts of the state looking lusher than they normally do in June, he said.
From New York Times ● Jun. 15, 2023
Spiky as she’d always been, but leaner and lusher at the same time.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
Robin Pecknold’s exquisite lockdown tunes pining for nature on 2020’s “Shore” should sound right at home in one of the Seattle area’s lushest venues — if you can afford it.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 11, 2022
But her solo material has tended towards Americana, and On the Line is her lushest, most melodic record to date.
From BBC ● Mar. 24, 2019
We had a picnic on a highway median in California one time—it seemed like a park to us—and it was the lushest grass I had ever seen.
From Slate ● Jan. 27, 2017
I wanted to break at Indian Garden, one of the lushest and shadiest spots in the canyon and an area once farmed by Native Americans.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 5, 2017
He could hop onto it and trek right on back to the RV, which, relative to his present surroundings, is the world’s lushest palace full of what Dad would call “first-world luxuries.”
From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone
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.
