mushroom

[ muhsh-room, -room ]

See synonyms for: mushroom mushroomed mushrooming mushrooms on Thesaurus.com

noun

any of various fleshy fungi including the toadstools, puffballs, coral fungi, morels, etc.
any of several edible species, especially of the family Agaricaceae, as Agaricus campestris(meadow mushroom, or field mushroom ), cultivated for food in the U.S.

anything of similar shape or correspondingly rapid growth.
a large, mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke or rubble, formed in the atmosphere as a result of an explosion, especially a nuclear explosion.

adjective

of, consisting of, or containing mushrooms: a mushroom omelet.
resembling a mushroom in shape or form.

of rapid growth and often brief duration: mushroom towns of the gold-rush days.

verb (used without object)

to spread, grow, or develop quickly.
to gather mushrooms.

to have or assume the shape of a mushroom.

Origin of mushroom

First recorded in 1350–1400; alteration (by folk etymology) of Middle English muscheron, musseroun, from Middle French mousseron, ultimately from Late Latin mussiriōn-, stem of mussiriō

Other words from mushroom

mush·room·like, adjective
mush·room·y, adjective

Words Nearby mushroom

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use mushroom in a sentence

Other wins have included a mushroom porridge torta in 2012 and a sticky toffee porridge in 2014.
In Pursuit of the Perfect Bowl of Porridge | Clarissa Wei | September 11, 2020 | Eater
High levels of Penicillium fungi, for example, resulted in wine with low levels of octanoic acid, a volatile compound that can give wine a mushroom flavor.
How does a crop’s environment shape a food’s smell and taste? | Carolyn Beans | September 10, 2020 | Science News
On average, bees exposed to pesticide had smaller mushroom bodies than did those in the control group.
Pesticides can have long-term impact on bumblebee learning | Alison Pearce Stevens | May 18, 2020 | Science News For Students
Pesticide exposure during early life “may have affected the development of the neurons inside the mushroom body,” he says.
Pesticides can have long-term impact on bumblebee learning | Alison Pearce Stevens | May 18, 2020 | Science News For Students
Having bigger mushroom bodies didn’t make it easier for those bees to learn.
Pesticides can have long-term impact on bumblebee learning | Alison Pearce Stevens | May 18, 2020 | Science News For Students

For Iraq, it was the WMDs and the mushroom clouds (and yes, they were lies, people, not intelligence failures).
Can America Still Win Wars? | Michael Tomasky | October 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
He even invited us to come back to the Luhansk region after the war and go mushroom picking with him.
Held at Gunpoint by Ukraine Rebels | Anna Nemtsova | May 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
If you could have a mushroom granola bar a half-hour before you work out, well, that would be ideal.
Mushrooms Are Magic for Women Trying to Lose Weight | Liza Gates | May 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
You can actually buy the same mushroom powder used in our study.
Mushrooms Are Magic for Women Trying to Lose Weight | Liza Gates | May 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
After determining that the bee pollen and mushroom broth were inedible, the “detox” quickly went downhill.
We Were Gwyneth’s GOOP Guinea Pigs | Erin Cunningham, Olivia Nuzzi | March 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The invalid sat on the shank of a mushroom anchor, and smoked his pipe while he affected to superintend the work.
The Floating Light of the Goodwin Sands | R.M. Ballantyne
But if you let cows get at a stack they will rub against it until it looks like a monster mushroom.
The Red Cow and Her Friends | Peter McArthur
Of certain features of existing places I have made a composite, which is the "mushroom Town" of this book.
Mushroom Town | Oliver Onions
A large species of mushroom, of the puff-ball kind, was not uncommon, nearly equal in size to a man's head.
Early Western Travels 1748-1846, Volume XVI | Various
When done, turn it out and serve a good white mushroom sauce round it.
Dressed Game and Poultry la Mode | Harriet A. de Salis

British Dictionary definitions for mushroom

mushroom

/ (ˈmʌʃruːm, -rʊm) /

noun

- the fleshy spore-producing body of any of various basidiomycetous fungi, typically consisting of a cap (pileus) at the end of a stem arising from an underground mycelium. Some species, such as the field mushroom, are edible: Compare pileus, toadstool
- (as modifier): mushroom soup
the fungus producing any of these structures

- something resembling a mushroom in shape or rapid growth
- (as modifier): mushroom expansion

verb(intr)

to grow rapidly: demand mushroomed overnight
to assume a mushroom-like shape

to gather mushrooms

Origin of mushroom

C15: from Old French mousseron, from Late Latin mussiriō, of obscure origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for mushroom

mushroom

[ mŭsh′rōōm′ ]

Any of various fungi that produce a fleshy fruiting body, which usually consists of a stalk topped by an umbrella-shaped cap. Many mushrooms are basidiomycetes. Some species of mushrooms are edible, though many are poisonous. The term mushroom is often applied to the stalk and cap alone. See more at basidiomycete.

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