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

Explanation

Mush is a soft, squishy clump of something. That bowlful of mush your grandfather gave you for breakfast might be oatmeal. Mush is a soggy mass, and cornmeal mush is a kind of porridge that fits this description. Mush is also something so overly sentimental that it's almost disgusting: "Oh, that movie was terrible, just a bunch of romantic mush!" When you use mush as a verb or an exclamation, it's usually in the context of dogsledding, meaning "Go!" or "Move forward!" This last meaning comes from the French marche, "walk" or "go."

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 • Mar. 8, 2026

Though he doesn’t go in for mush, Mayhew-Archer does at least provide a sort of rationale for the fraud: medical insurance declined to cover William’s Parkinson’s drugs.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 12, 2026

At home, take what you’re eating, mush it up and put it on the high-chair tray.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 18, 2025

She comes off one way, but inside, I think she's a ball of mush somewhere – you have to peel back the layers and the layers and the layers.

From Salon • Nov. 28, 2024

“I’m sure,” I say, ignoring the fact that my gut’s turned into mush, determined to proceed with the plan.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam