mushroom meaning and definition

MUSHROOM noun

Definition of mushroom (noun)

1. common name for an edible agaric (contrasting with the inedible toadstool)
   • antonym: 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)
   • synonyms: mushroom cloud, mushroom-shaped cloud
5. fleshy body of any of numerous edible fungi

MUSHROOM verb

Definition of mushroom (verb)

1. pick or gather mushrooms
   • "We went mushrooming in the Fall"
2. grow and spread fast
   • "The problem mushroomed"