mushroom
Americannoun
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mushrooms
plural
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any of various fleshy fungi including the toadstools, puffballs, coral fungi, morels, etc.
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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.
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anything of similar shape or correspondingly rapid growth.
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a large, mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke or rubble, formed in the atmosphere as a result of an explosion, especially a nuclear explosion.
adjective
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of, consisting of, or containing mushrooms.
a mushroom omelet.
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resembling a mushroom in shape or form.
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of rapid growth and often brief duration.
mushroom towns of the gold-rush days.
verb (used without object)
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mushrooms,
present (3rd person singular)
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mushroomed,
past participle, past
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mushrooming
present participle
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to spread, grow, or develop quickly.
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to gather mushrooms.
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to have or assume the shape of a mushroom.
noun
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the fungus producing any of these structures
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something resembling a mushroom in shape or rapid growth
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( as modifier )
mushroom expansion
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verb
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to grow rapidly
demand mushroomed overnight
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to assume a mushroom-like shape
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to gather mushrooms
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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.
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See more at basidiomycete
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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mushroomsimple
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mushroomssimple
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have mushroomedperfect
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has mushroomedperfect
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am mushroomingprogressive
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are mushroomingprogressive
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is mushroomingprogressive
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have been mushroomingperfect progressive
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has been mushroomingperfect progressive
Past
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mushroomedsimple
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had mushroomedperfect
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was mushroomingprogressive
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were mushroomingprogressive
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had been mushroomingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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
Explanation
A mushroom is the main body of a certain type of fungus. Edible mushrooms include portobellos and shiitakes. Don't mess around with the inedible types. Walk in the woods after a few days of rain, and you're sure to see mushrooms growing from the damp forest floor. Mushrooms like moist environments, and many mushrooms also grow incredibly fast, which is where the verb form of mushroom, "grow and spread quickly," comes from. The word's origin is ultimately uncertain, although some experts believe it's related to the French mousse, or "moss."
Vocabulary lists containing mushroom
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:
Among the most recognisable species is the fly agaric,, external the striking red mushroom covered in white spots that has become closely associated with folklore and popular culture.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
Guests enjoyed a menu with Chinese influences, according to the White House, that included a first course of sweet yellow squash velouté with wild mushroom fricassée and scallion oil.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
There is also a $29.99 mushroom pasta sauce with white truffle flavoring.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
But they are also excellent spooned onto little buns, topped with cheese and baked into mushroom sliders.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
She says, “Oh! Cool! Giant mushroom, you guys. Don’t miss it.”
From "The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle" by Leslie Connor
While the colourful displays may encourage people to learn more about fungi, experts are warning against assuming wild mushrooms are safe to eat.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
From fairytale toadstools to fungi that look like birds' nests, experts say some of Britain's most unusual mushrooms are beginning to emerge as autumn arrives.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
She made a feast of steamed mussels with coconut cream sauce, rib-eye, chicken, rice and sautéed mushrooms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
I can make the mushrooms on autopilot, then look at what remains of my energy.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
She walked with light steps, whispering the names of every tree and flower, careful not to trample any saplings or mushrooms as she stepped.
From "I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980" by Lauren Tarshis
Shortly after I graduated from college, the internet became a global presence, and claims on my attention and everyone else’s mushroomed into a multitude of distractions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
What began in 1995 as Parton's modest giveaway of 6,000 books to needy children has mushroomed into an operation involving hundreds of local groups and multiple publishers.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
That all changed as the Premier League's global appeal mushroomed.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Since last fall, when Kakaiya began selling the model, clinician interest has mushroomed.
From Slate ● Jun. 7, 2026
Again, racial equality was being forced upon the South by the federal government, and by 1956, Southern white opposition to desegregation mushroomed into a vicious backlash.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Anxiety about the Iran war, inflation and mushrooming public debt have driven the recent selloff in Treasury bonds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
The technology stands accused of fuelling misinformation, copyright lawsuits are mushrooming, and many companies have cited AI adoption as an explanation for mass layoffs.
From Barron's ● Nov. 25, 2025
Drug deductibles—the amount you pay up front before coverage kicks in—are mushrooming for many.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2025
Workshops and underground waacking jams - events where dancers battle it out with their moves - are mushrooming in several cities and international waacking legends are visiting the country to teach the dance.
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2024
“Sometimes I dream lightning strikes. Or earthquakes. Sometimes it’s dark clouds mushrooming in the sky. I wake troubled.”
From "Ghost Boys" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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.
