mush

¹ American  

[muhsh, moosh] / mʌʃ, mʊʃ /

noun

1. meal, especially cornmeal, boiled in water or milk until it forms a thick, soft mass, or until it is stiff enough to mold into a loaf for slicing and frying.

2. any thick, soft mass.

3. mawkish sentimentality or amorousness.

4. anything unpleasantly or contemptibly lacking in coherence, force, dignity, etc..

   His entire argument was simply mush.

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verb (used with object)

1. to squeeze or crush; compress.

   to mush all the candy together in a sticky ball.

   Synonyms:

   smush, mash

mush ² American  

[muhsh] / mʌʃ /

verb (used without object)

1. to go or travel, especially over snow with a dog team and sled.

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verb (used with object)

1. to drive or spur on (sled dogs or a sled drawn by dogs).

interjection

1. go! (used as an order to start or speed up a dog team)

noun

1. a trip or journey, especially across snow and ice with a dog team.

mush ¹ British  

/ mʌʃ /

noun

1. a soft pulpy mass or consistency

2. a thick porridge made from corn meal

3. informal cloying sentimentality

4. radio interference in reception, esp a hissing noise

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verb

1. (tr) to reduce (a substance) to a soft pulpy mass

mush ² British  

/ mʌʃ /

interjection

1. an order to dogs in a sled team to start up or go faster

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verb

1. to travel by or drive a dog sled

2. (intr) to travel on foot, esp with snowshoes

noun

1. a journey with a dogsled

mush ³ British  

/ mʊʃ /

noun

1. a slang word for face

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mush ⁴ British  

/ mʊʃ /

noun

1. slang a familiar or contemptuous term of address

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Other Word Forms

• musher noun

Etymology

Origin of mush¹

An Americanism dating back to 1665–75; obscurely related to mash ¹

Origin of mush²

First recorded in 1860–65; perhaps originally as phrasal verb mush on!, from Canadian French, French marchons! “let's go!”; march ¹

Example Sentences

All one needs is "another radio transmitter that can broadcast on the same frequency, but louder," she said, which creates "a wall of mush."

From Barron's

I picked up the next small cluster; they turned to mush in my hands.

From Literature

In spite of the fact that the donut was green mush by then, it felt important.

From Literature

I made a runny mush with the oats and held a spoonful to Gran’s mouth.

From Literature

They retain much of their texture and don’t turn into “mush” when cooked, Matijevich says.

From Salon