mushroom

[ muhsh-room, -roo m ]

/ ˈmʌʃ rum, -rʊm /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR mushroom 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

1350–1400; alteration (by folk etymology) of Middle English muscheron, musseroun < Middle French mousseron ≪ Late Latin mussiriōn-, stem of mussiriō

OTHER WORDS FROM mushroom

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

Words nearby mushroom

musher, mushhead, mushin, mushmelon, mushmouth, mushroom, mushroom anchor, mushroom cloud, mushroom slab construction, mushroom ventilator, mushy

Example sentences from the Web for mushrooming

It had been made by a mushrooming bullet, and the wonder was that the man had lived at all after receiving it.

Louisiana Lou |William West Winter
Mushrooming where it had struck Johnny and then the tree, the slug still retained its shape where it had fitted its brass shell.

Trading Jeff and his Dog |James Arthur Kjelgaard
Twelve years ago the neighbourhood had shown no signs of mushrooming into its present opulence.

Gigolo |Edna Ferber
Close at hand, one of the lava-needles vanished in soundless display of mushrooming explosion.

Master of the Moondog |Stanley Mullen

The cliffs resembled castle walls rising from the buried city, mushrooming themselves into sudden arrogance.

The Three Sapphires |W. A. Fraser

British Dictionary definitions for mushrooming

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 edibleCompare 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

Word Origin for mushroom

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

Scientific definitions for mushrooming

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.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

mushroom