mush

UK: /ˈmʊʃ/

US: /mʌʃ or, esp. for 2-5, mʊʃ/

US: (mush or, esp. for 2–5, mŏŏsh)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

mush¹ /mʌʃ or, esp. for 2-5. mʊʃ/    n. [uncountable]

1. a thick mixture made by boiling meal, esp. cornmeal, in water or milk.
2. any thick, soft mass.
3. anything lacking force, substance, or strength:
   His arguments are nothing but mush.

v. [~ + object]

4. to squeeze or crush;
   crunch.

mush² /mʌʃ/   v. [no object]

1. to go or travel, esp. over snow with a dog team and sled.

interj. 

2. (used as an order to start or speed up a dog team):
   "Mush!'' she cried, and the team leaped ahead.

n. [countable]

3. a trip or journey, esp. across snow and ice with a dog team.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

mush¹  (mush or, esp. for 2–5, mŏŏsh), n. 

1. meal, esp. cornmeal, boiled in water or milk until it forms a thick, soft mass, or until it is stiff enough to mold into a loaf for slicing and frying.
2. any thick, soft mass.
3. mawkish sentimentality or amorousness.
4. anything unpleasantly or contemptibly lacking in coherence, force, dignity, etc.:
   His entire argument was simply mush.

v.t. 

5. to squeeze or crush;
   crunch:
   to mush all the candy together in a sticky ball.

• obscurely akin to mash¹ 1665–75, American.

mush²  (mush), v.i. 

1. to go or travel, esp. over snow with a dog team and sled.

v.t. 

2. to drive or spur on (sled dogs or a sled drawn by dogs).

interj. 

3. go! (used as an order to start or speed up a dog team)

n. 

4. a trip or journey, esp. across snow and ice with a dog team.

• Canadian French, French marchons! let's go!; see march¹
• perh. origin, originally as phrasal verb, verbal mush on! 1895–1900

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

mush / mʌʃ/ noun

1. a soft pulpy mass or consistency
2. a thick porridge made from corn meal
3. cloying sentimentality

verb

1. (transitive) to reduce (a substance) to a soft pulpy mass

Etymology: 17th Century: from obsolete moose porridge; probably related to mash; compare Old English mōs food

mush / mʌʃ/ interjection

1. an order to dogs in a sled team to start up or go faster

verb

1. to travel by or drive a dog sled

noun

1. a journey with a dogsled

Etymology: 19th Century: perhaps from French marchez or marchons, imperatives of marcher to advance

mush / mʊʃ/ noun

1. a slang word for face1

Etymology: 19th Century: from mush¹, alluding to the softness of the face