mushroom

[ muhsh-room, -room ]

noun

1. any of various fleshy fungi including the toadstools, puffballs, coral fungi, morels, etc.
2. 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.
3. anything of similar shape or correspondingly rapid growth.
4. a large, mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke or rubble, formed in the atmosphere as a result of an explosion, especially a nuclear explosion.

adjective

1. of, consisting of, or containing mushrooms:

   a mushroom omelet.

2. resembling a mushroom in shape or form.
3. of rapid growth and often brief duration:

   mushroom towns of the gold-rush days.

verb (used without object)

1. to spread, grow, or develop quickly.
2. to gather mushrooms.
3. to have or assume the shape of a mushroom.

mushroom

/ -rʊm; ˈmʌʃruːm /

noun

1. 1. 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
   2. ( as modifier )

      mushroom soup

2. the fungus producing any of these structures
3. 1. something resembling a mushroom in shape or rapid growth
   2. ( as modifier )

      mushroom expansion

verb

1. to grow rapidly

   demand mushroomed overnight

2. to assume a mushroom-like shape
3. to gather mushrooms

mushroom

/ mŭsh′ro̅o̅m′ /

1. 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.
2. See more at basidiomycete

Other Words From

• mushroom·like adjective
• mushroom·y adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mushroom¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of mushroom¹

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

Example Sentences

Other wins have included a mushroom porridge torta in 2012 and a sticky toffee porridge in 2014.

From 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.

From Science News

On average, bees exposed to pesticide had smaller mushroom bodies than did those in the control group.

From Science News For Students

Pesticide exposure during early life “may have affected the development of the neurons inside the mushroom body,” he says.

From Science News For Students

Having bigger mushroom bodies didn’t make it easier for those bees to learn.

From Science News For Students

For Iraq, it was the WMDs and the mushroom clouds (and yes, they were lies, people, not intelligence failures).

From The Daily Beast

He even invited us to come back to the Luhansk region after the war and go mushroom picking with him.

From The Daily Beast

If you could have a mushroom granola bar a half-hour before you work out, well, that would be ideal.

From The Daily Beast

You can actually buy the same mushroom powder used in our study.

From The Daily Beast

After determining that the bee pollen and mushroom broth were inedible, the “detox” quickly went downhill.

From The Daily Beast

The invalid sat on the shank of a mushroom anchor, and smoked his pipe while he affected to superintend the work.

From Project Gutenberg

But if you let cows get at a stack they will rub against it until it looks like a monster mushroom.

From Project Gutenberg

Of certain features of existing places I have made a composite, which is the "Mushroom Town" of this book.

From Project Gutenberg

A large species of mushroom, of the puff-ball kind, was not uncommon, nearly equal in size to a man's head.

From Project Gutenberg

When done, turn it out and serve a good white mushroom sauce round it.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• boom
• burgeon
• expand
• explode
• flourish
• proliferate
• shoot up