marshmallow
Americannoun
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a sweetened paste or confection made from the mucilaginous root of the marsh mallow.
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a similar confection, usually soft and spongy, made from gum arabic or gelatin, sugar, corn syrup, and flavoring.
noun
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a sweet of a spongy texture containing gum arabic or gelatine, sugar, etc
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a sweetened paste or confection made from the root of the marsh mallow
Usage
What is the Marshmallow Test? The Marshmallow Test is a famous psychological test performed on young children in the 1960s linking delayed gratification (a treat right now … or two later?) to success later in life. A 2018 replication notably concluded, though, that socioeconomic background significantly influenced the ability of children to delay their gratification. So the test was biased.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of marshmallow
First recorded in 1905–10; see origin at marsh mallow
Explanation
A marshmallow is a sweet, soft treat. Marshmallows are sometimes melted and turned into a sugary topping for ice cream or a filling for baked goods. Marshmallows are made of gelatin and sugar, with a dusty powdered sugar surface, and they squish like a sponge when you squeeze or bite down on them. Marshmallows can be toasted over a fire to turn them slightly crisp on the outside and melty within, and sandwiched between graham crackers with chocolate to make a "s'more." The original 19th century marshmallows were made from a plant called mersc-mealwe (marsh mallow plant) in Old English.
Vocabulary lists containing marshmallow
Commonly Misspelled Words, List 2
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Easter Vocabulary
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocabulary for February 4–February 10, 2023
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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.
Then there’s bruising running back Mark Fletcher Jr., who runs through 300-pound defenders as if they were made of marshmallow.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 11, 2026
The chocolate-covered marshmallow treats had apparently been all the rage prior to this - being eaten by crewmen as they flew nuclear bombers on long training sorties at the height of the Cold War.
From BBC • Apr. 4, 2025
But there is one little thing: Okra, like marshmallow root and aloe vera, is mucilaginous, meaning it can get slimy when sliced and cooked.
From Salon • Apr. 1, 2025
Wilcox got Frosty — a chunky goat the color of a softly toasted marshmallow — in 2021 when he lived in Northern California.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 26, 2024
I thought about the way my mother had built trails of graham-cracker crumbs and marshmallow to lure roaches from the house rather than step on them.
From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
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.
