MUSHROOM

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does mushroom mean? 

• MUSHROOM (noun)
  The noun MUSHROOM has 5 senses:

1. common name for an edible agaric (contrasting with the inedible toadstool)

2. mushrooms and related fleshy fungi (including toadstools, puffballs, morels, coral fungi, etc.)

3. any of various fleshy fungi of the subdivision Basidiomycota consisting of a cap at the end of a stem arising from an underground mycelium

4. a large cloud of rubble and dust shaped like a mushroom and rising into the sky after an explosion (especially of a nuclear bomb)

5. fleshy body of any of numerous edible fungi

  Familiarity information: MUSHROOM used as a noun is common.

• MUSHROOM (verb)
  The verb MUSHROOM has 2 senses:

1. pick or gather mushrooms

2. grow and spread fast

  Familiarity information: MUSHROOM used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MUSHROOM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Common name for an edible agaric (contrasting with the inedible toadstool)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("mushroom" is a kind of...):

agaric (a saprophytic fungus of the order Agaricales having an umbrellalike cap with gills on the underside)

Antonym:

toadstool (common name for an inedible or poisonous agaric (contrasting with the edible mushroom))

Derivation:

mushroom (pick or gather mushrooms)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Mushrooms and related fleshy fungi (including toadstools, puffballs, morels, coral fungi, etc.)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("mushroom" is a kind of...):

agaric (a saprophytic fungus of the order Agaricales having an umbrellalike cap with gills on the underside)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Any of various fleshy fungi of the subdivision Basidiomycota consisting of a cap at the end of a stem arising from an underground mycelium

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("mushroom" is a kind of...):

basidiomycete; basidiomycetous fungi (any of various fungi of the subdivision Basidiomycota)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mushroom"):

morel (any of various edible mushrooms of the genus Morchella having a brownish spongelike cap)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A large cloud of rubble and dust shaped like a mushroom and rising into the sky after an explosion (especially of a nuclear bomb)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Synonyms:

mushroom; mushroom-shaped cloud; mushroom cloud

Hypernyms ("mushroom" is a kind of...):

cloud (any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Fleshy body of any of numerous edible fungi

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("mushroom" is a kind of...):

veg; vegetable; veggie (edible seeds or roots or stems or leaves or bulbs or tubers or nonsweet fruits of any of numerous herbaceous plant)

Holonyms ("mushroom" is a part of...):

stuffed mushroom (mushrooms stuffed with any of numerous mixtures of e.g. meats or nuts or seafood or spinach)

Derivation:

mushroom (pick or gather mushrooms)

• MUSHROOM (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they mushroom    ... he / she / it mushrooms   
Past simple: mushroomed   
Past participle: mushroomed   
-ing form: mushrooming   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Pick or gather mushrooms

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

We went mushrooming in the Fall

Hypernyms (to "mushroom" is one way to...):

cull; pick; pluck (look for and gather)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

In the summer they like to go out and mushroom

Derivation:

mushroom (fleshy body of any of numerous edible fungi)

mushroom (common name for an edible agaric (contrasting with the inedible toadstool))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Grow and spread fast

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

The problem mushroomed

Hypernyms (to "mushroom" is one way to...):

grow (become larger, greater, or bigger; expand or gain)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

 Context examples 

Mantle plumes are thought to be narrow streams of hot rock rising through Earth's mantle and spreading out like a mushroom cap under the crust.

(Hot News from the Antarctic Underground, NASA)

Coriolus versicolor is a type of mushroom.

(Coriolus versicolor extract, NCI Dictionary)

Amanitin is the class of mushroom toxins that cause the most serious issues.

(New Test Identifies Poisonous Mushrooms, Agricultural Research Service)

A type of poisonous mushroom that has harmful effects on the kidneys and liver.

(Amanita phalloides, NCI Dictionary)

An extract derived from the mushroom Coriolus versicolor, containing polysaccharide K (PSK) and polysaccharide-peptide (PSP), with potential immunomodulating and antineoplastic activities.

(Coriolus versicolor extract, NCI Thesaurus)

So Hans Nelson worked at his trade that winter and helped rear the mushroom outfitting-town of Skaguay.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

A lesion having the shape of a mushroom.

(Mushroom-Shaped Lesion, NCI Thesaurus)

A tumor shaped like a small mushroom, with its stem attached to the epithelial layer (inner lining) of an organ.

(Papillary Neoplasm, NCI Dictionary)

Issue associated with the visibility of molds, mildews, yeasts, and/or mushrooms in the immediate environment in which a device is being used.

(Fungus in Medical Device Environment, Food and Drug Administration)

Mushrooms, yeasts, and molds are examples.

(Fungus, NCI Dictionary)