mush·room
ˈməsh-ˌrüm 
-ˌru̇m;
chiefly Northern and Midland US -ˌrün;
dialectal ˈmə-shə-ˌrüm,
-ˌru̇m,
-ˌrün
mushroomed; mushrooming; mushrooms
Synonyms
Examples of mushroom in a Sentence
Noun
cut up some mushrooms for the salad
Verb
Interest in local history is suddenly mushrooming.
Her hobby mushroomed into a thriving business.
He goes mushrooming in the spring every year.
Recent Examples on the Web
Melissa Epifano, Peoplemag, 27 Apr. 2024
Canned cream of mushroom soup: A creamy binder for the casserole, adding a rich flavor to the mixture.
—Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 26 Apr. 2024
Glide through underwater gardens featuring lobed pore, slipper, and mushroom corals, among others.
—Melissa Locker, Travel + Leisure, 25 Apr. 2024
Menu Cuisine: Italian What to order: Famous Philly sub — your choice of steak or chicken — served with provolone cheese, mushrooms, peppers and onion.
—Melissa Oyler, Charlotte Observer, 24 Apr. 2024
For breakfast, a farm chicory salad was served first, followed by the option of sweet potato scallops with pea purée or mushroom steak accompanied by kale hash and chermoula sauce.
—Eliseé Browchuk, Vogue, 24 Apr. 2024
Biologist Robin Moore sells her gourmet mushrooms at the Brookside, River Market and Lee’s Summit farmers markets.
—Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 22 Apr. 2024
The Hanna-Barbera characters from the boat ride were replaced by scenes of the Smurfs in their mushroom houses, hiding from the evil Gargamel.
—Jeff Suess, The Enquirer, 19 Apr. 2024
Morel mushroom hunting just got a whole lot easier with a new interactive map from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
—Detroit Free Press, 19 Apr. 2024
Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
Since their beginnings in the 1950s, dollar stores have mushroomed across the U.S., sprouting up in urban and rural communities alike.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2024
As the luxury sector has mushroomed, many of even the priciest marques have moved production offshore, mostly to China.
—The Editors, Robb Report, 28 Mar. 2024
But critics say the development has spiraled out of control in some areas, particularly on islands like Mykonos and Paros, where large-scale hotel complexes have mushroomed in recent years.
—Niki Kitsantonis, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2024
Since then, however, the number qualifying for exemption has mushroomed, and the ultra-Orthodox make up 13% of the population.
—Loveday Morris The Washington Post, arkansasonline.com, 30 Mar. 2024
But awareness of attacks that appear to be localized to Lower Manhattan has mushroomed across social media in the past week, largely thanks to TikTok’s unique algorithm.
—Kim Bellware, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
At the site of the massacre, an impromptu memorial had mushroomed into a mountain of flowers, candles, and other tributes by Sunday evening.
—Charles Maynes, NPR, 25 Mar. 2024
In the first and its 31 pitches’ worth of trouble, an inning that would mushroom into disaster for scores of pitchers — especially against these Dodgers — Musgrove wrestled things back to stable by allowing only one run.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Mar. 2024
Noun
Those looking for more affordable ways to update outdoor spaces can snag hammocks and chairs for up to 64 percent off, full-size grills for under $400, and adorable mushroom spikes that water your plants for you.
—Melissa Epifano, Peoplemag, 27 Apr. 2024
Canned cream of mushroom soup: A creamy binder for the casserole, adding a rich flavor to the mixture.
—Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 26 Apr. 2024
Glide through underwater gardens featuring lobed pore, slipper, and mushroom corals, among others.
—Melissa Locker, Travel + Leisure, 25 Apr. 2024
Menu Cuisine: Italian What to order: Famous Philly sub — your choice of steak or chicken — served with provolone cheese, mushrooms, peppers and onion.
—Melissa Oyler, Charlotte Observer, 24 Apr. 2024
For breakfast, a farm chicory salad was served first, followed by the option of sweet potato scallops with pea purée or mushroom steak accompanied by kale hash and chermoula sauce.
—Eliseé Browchuk, Vogue, 24 Apr. 2024
Biologist Robin Moore sells her gourmet mushrooms at the Brookside, River Market and Lee’s Summit farmers markets.
—Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 22 Apr. 2024
The Hanna-Barbera characters from the boat ride were replaced by scenes of the Smurfs in their mushroom houses, hiding from the evil Gargamel.
—Jeff Suess, The Enquirer, 19 Apr. 2024
Morel mushroom hunting just got a whole lot easier with a new interactive map from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
—Detroit Free Press, 19 Apr. 2024
Verb
The bills are mushrooming in an era when the U.S. Supreme Court has expanded the rights of religious people and groups in the public square and weakened historic protections meant to keep the government from endorsing religion.
—Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
Since their beginnings in the 1950s, dollar stores have mushroomed across the U.S., sprouting up in urban and rural communities alike.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2024
As the luxury sector has mushroomed, many of even the priciest marques have moved production offshore, mostly to China.
—The Editors, Robb Report, 28 Mar. 2024
But critics say the development has spiraled out of control in some areas, particularly on islands like Mykonos and Paros, where large-scale hotel complexes have mushroomed in recent years.
—Niki Kitsantonis, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2024
Since then, however, the number qualifying for exemption has mushroomed, and the ultra-Orthodox make up 13% of the population.
—Loveday Morris The Washington Post, arkansasonline.com, 30 Mar. 2024
But awareness of attacks that appear to be localized to Lower Manhattan has mushroomed across social media in the past week, largely thanks to TikTok’s unique algorithm.
—Kim Bellware, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
At the site of the massacre, an impromptu memorial had mushroomed into a mountain of flowers, candles, and other tributes by Sunday evening.
—Charles Maynes, NPR, 25 Mar. 2024
In the first and its 31 pitches’ worth of trouble, an inning that would mushroom into disaster for scores of pitchers — especially against these Dodgers — Musgrove wrestled things back to stable by allowing only one run.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mushroom.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Mushroom.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mushroom. Accessed 2 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mushroom
1 of 2 noun
mush·room
ˈməsh-ˌrüm
-ˌru̇m
1
: a fleshy part of a fungus that bears spores, grows above ground, and consists usually of a stem bearing a flattened cap
especially
: one that is edible
2
mushroom
2 of 2 verb
: to appear or develop suddenly or increase rapidly
the population mushroomed
Medical Definition
mushroom
noun
mush·room
ˈməsh-ˌrüm
-ˌru̇m
-ˌru̇m
1
: an enlarged complex fleshy fruiting body of a fungus (as most basidiomycetes) that arises from an underground mycelium and consists typically of a stem bearing a spore-bearing structure
especially
: one that is edible compare toadstool
2
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