mushroom.
Any of the fleshy fruiting bodies of fungi typically produced above ground on soil or on their food sources (such as decaying wood).
Meaning & usage
Any of the fleshy fruiting bodies of fungi typically produced above ground on soil or on their food sources (such as decaying wood).
Some mushrooms are edible whereas others are poisonous, and sometimes they are difficult to tell apart.
A fungus producing such fruiting bodies.
Champignon or Agaricus bisporus, the mushroom species most commonly used in cooking.
Any of the mushroom-shaped pegs in bar billiards.
A concrete column with a thickened portion at the top, used to support a slab.
One who rises suddenly from a low condition in life; an upstart.
Something that grows very quickly or seems to appear suddenly.
Ellipsis of mushroom cloud.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English muscheron, musseron, from Anglo-Norman musherum, moscheron, from Old French moisseron, of obscure origin: probably derived from Old French mosse, moise ("moss"; whence also French mousse), as the use first applied to a type of fungus which grows in moss, from Frankish *mosu (“moss”) or Old Dutch *mosa (“moss”), akin to Old High German mosa (“moor, swamp”), Old High German mos (“moss, bog”), Old High German mios (“moss, mire”), Old English mēos (“moss”), Old English mōs (“bog, marsh”), Old Norse mosi (“moss”), Old Norse myrr (“bog, mire”), from Proto-Germanic *musą, *musô, *miuziz (“mosses, bog”), from Proto-Indo-European *mews- (“mosses, mold, mildew”). Displaced native Old English swamm. More at mire. Alternatively, the Old French may be of pre-Roman origin. See Ancient Greek μύκης (múkēs, “mushroom”). Doublet of moss and mousse.
Having characteristics like those of a mushroom, for example in shape or appearance, speed of growth, or texture.
mushroom cloud
Where this word comes from
From Middle English muscheron, musseron, from Anglo-Norman musherum, moscheron, from Old French moisseron, of obscure origin: probably derived from Old French mosse, moise ("moss"; whence also French mousse), as the use first applied to a type of fungus which grows in moss, from Frankish *mosu (“moss”) or Old Dutch *mosa (“moss”), akin to Old High German mosa (“moor, swamp”), Old High German mos (“moss, bog”), Old High German mios (“moss, mire”), Old English mēos (“moss”), Old English mōs (“bog, marsh”), Old Norse mosi (“moss”), Old Norse myrr (“bog, mire”), from Proto-Germanic *musą, *musô, *miuziz (“mosses, bog”), from Proto-Indo-European *mews- (“mosses, mold, mildew”). Displaced native Old English swamm. More at mire. Alternatively, the Old French may be of pre-Roman origin. See Ancient Greek μύκης (múkēs, “mushroom”). Doublet of moss and mousse.
To grow quickly to a large size or rapidly increase in scope or scale.
The town’s population mushroomed from 10,000 to 110,000 in five years.
To gather mushrooms.
We used to go mushrooming in the forest every weekend.
To form the shape of a mushroom.
To form the shape of a mushroom. To form the shape of a mushroom when striking a soft target.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English muscheron, musseron, from Anglo-Norman musherum, moscheron, from Old French moisseron, of obscure origin: probably derived from Old French mosse, moise ("moss"; whence also French mousse), as the use first applied to a type of fungus which grows in moss, from Frankish *mosu (“moss”) or Old Dutch *mosa (“moss”), akin to Old High German mosa (“moor, swamp”), Old High German mos (“moss, bog”), Old High German mios (“moss, mire”), Old English mēos (“moss”), Old English mōs (“bog, marsh”), Old Norse mosi (“moss”), Old Norse myrr (“bog, mire”), from Proto-Germanic *musą, *musô, *miuziz (“mosses, bog”), from Proto-Indo-European *mews- (“mosses, mold, mildew”). Displaced native Old English swamm. More at mire. Alternatively, the Old French may be of pre-Roman origin. See Ancient Greek μύκης (múkēs, “mushroom”). Doublet of moss and mousse.
Try it on your idea.
mushroom has 8 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.
These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.
Explore the name generatorA word with a source.
Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.