slush
Americannoun
-
partly melted snow.
-
liquid mud; watery mire.
-
waste, as fat, grease, or other refuse, from the galley of a ship.
-
a mixture of grease and other materials for lubricating.
-
silly, sentimental, or weakly emotional talk or writing.
romantic slush.
verb (used with object)
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slushes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
slushed,
past participle, past
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slushing
present participle
-
to splash with slush.
-
to grease, polish, or cover with slush.
-
to fill or cover with mortar or cement.
-
to wash with a large quantity of water, as by dashing it on.
noun
-
any watery muddy substance, esp melting snow
-
informal sloppily sentimental language
-
nautical waste fat from the galley of a ship
verb
-
to make one's way through or as if through slush
-
(intr) to make a slushing sound
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
slushsimple
-
slushessimple
-
have slushedperfect
-
has slushedperfect
-
am slushingprogressive
-
are slushingprogressive
-
is slushingprogressive
-
have been slushingperfect progressive
-
has been slushingperfect progressive
Past
-
slushedsimple
-
had slushedperfect
-
was slushingprogressive
-
were slushingprogressive
-
had been slushingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of slush
1635–45; apparently cognate with Norwegian slusk slops, Swedish slask mud, slops
Explanation
Slush is messy melted snow, a mixture of ice and water. If you forget to wear your waterproof boots, you'll want to watch out for the slush as you walk through the city in February. Slush forms when snow melts slightly, leaving behind a substance that's similar to snow, but wetter. A sweet, icy drink is also a slush or a slushy, while a "slush pile" is a heap of manuscripts and letters that are sent, unsolicited, to a publisher. And a "slush fund" is either an extra, backup bank account, or a secret one full of illegally obtained money. One thing is for sure: slush is messy.
Vocabulary lists containing slush
"It Happened in Montgomery"
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"Abuela Invents the Zero" and "Karate"
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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.
See Examples For:
It’s that second step that Blanche now says they’re not going to do as a big slush fund.
From Slate ● Jun. 9, 2026
In 2008, both Lee Jae-yong and his father resigned after a former Samsung lawyer turned whistle-blower claimed knowledge of a slush fund that was being used for bribes and political payoffs.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026
Takaichi replaced Shigeru Ishiba, whose one-year leadership saw voter discontent simmer over inflation and a slush fund scandal within the party.
From Barron's ● Feb. 6, 2026
And since no one wants to ski on ice or slush, artificial snow will be used.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2026
We sped under the Iditarod Arch just behind her, spattered with ice and slush from her sled.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
In 2023, McDonald’s launched a new restaurant concept called CosMc’s that served lattes, frappes, slushes and other novelty drinks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026
They’ll slice up bluefin tuna as reddish ice slushes into a drain in the floor.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 25, 2023
The last is two blocks from Dairy Lodge — established 1958 — with soft-serve sundaes, slushes and, of course, a cherry-pie flurry.
From New York Times ● Jul. 26, 2018
Arizona Cardinals The day after the Cardinals win, drinks and slushes are half price at Sonic restaurants in the Phoenix area.
From Time ● Sep. 20, 2015
We keep walking until the water and dirt and mud slushes right up to our shins.
From "King and the Dragonflies" by Kacen Callender
The government watchdog said slushed ice drinks containing glycerol - a type of sweetener - were unsafe for young children, and consumption of them should be limited for children aged between seven and 10.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2025
When the bathrooms began flooding, the manager decided the night was canceled, and fans begrudgingly slushed their way out.
From New York Times ● Feb. 29, 2020
In the final kilometer, Tewalt slushed through puddles and mud to finish in 16:28.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 3, 2018
The farmers market, which operates year-round in a dedicated, enclosed building, offered fresh produce, live music, slushed lemonade, and — the boys’ pick — sweet cinnamon rolls from Cloud Cliff Bakery.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 13, 2018
The slushed walls gradually peeled, inviting bats, rats and other nightly creatures to come live with us.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
“For 10 years we protested on the water, right here,” Tommaso Cacciari, a spokesman for the No Big Ships committee said, pointing at the slushing canal.
From New York Times ● Aug. 2, 2021
Is there some sort of conflict of interest slushing beneath this piece, like a frozen river of bias?
From The Verge ● Jul. 28, 2015
British Leyland's "slushing," as the Daily Mail told it, amounted to $19.4 million in the 1975-76 financial year and is estimated at $42.5 million for 1977-78.
From Time Magazine Archive
Author Paul Brickhill, a wartime R.A.F. flyer himself, tells Bader's story without slushing about in sentimentality.
From Time Magazine Archive
The icy mud sent little thrills of pain up their legs, so they ran, splashing through the puddles and slushing in the mud.
From "Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Paterson
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.
