| mushroom | |
| 1. n. 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 and taste good, while others are poisonous and taste foul. | |
| 2. n. A fungus producing such fruiting bodies. | |
| 3. n. Champignon or Agaricus bisporus, the mushroom species most commonly used in cooking. | |
| 4. n. One of the mushroom-shaped pegs in bar billiards. | |
| 5. n. (obsolete, figurative) One who rises suddenly from a low condition in life; an upstart. | |
| 6. n. (figurative) Something that grows very quickly or seems to appear suddenly. | |
| 7. adj. Having characteristics like those of a mushroom, for example in shape or appearance, speed of growth, or texture. | |
| mushroom cloud | |
| 8. v. (intransitive) To grow quickly to a large size. | |
| The town’s population mushroomed from 10,000 to 110,000 in five years. | |
| 9. v. To gather mushrooms. | |
| We used to go mushrooming in the forest every weekend. | |
| 10. v. (ballistics, of a bullet) To form the shape of a mushroom when striking a soft target. | |
