mash

verb (1)

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\ ˈmash

mashed; mashing; mashes

Definition of mash

(Entry 1 of 5)

transitive verb

1a : to reduce to a soft pulpy state by beating or pressure

b : crush, smash mash a finger

2 : to subject (a substance, such as crushed malt) to the action of water with heating and stirring in preparing wort

mash

noun (1)

Definition of mash (Entry 2 of 5)

1 : a mixture of ground feeds for livestock

2 : crushed malt or grain meal steeped and stirred in hot water to produce wort

3 : a soft pulpy mass

4 British : mashed potatoes

mash

noun (2)

Definition of mash (Entry 3 of 5)

: crush sense 1

mash

verb (2)

mashed; mashing; mashes

Definition of mash (Entry 4 of 5)

transitive verb

: to flirt with or seek the affection of

MASH

abbreviation

Definition of MASH (Entry 5 of 5)

mobile army surgical hospital

The Evolution of Mash

Those shot by Cupid's arrow know that love can spur a desire to hold one's beloved tightly and never let go. Perhaps that embracing feeling of love is why mash, originally a word for an act of squeezing and crushing, became a term for an intense infatuation, or the object of it, in 1870. The more popular crush showed its loving side in 1884, and main squeeze had begun crossing the lips of sweethearts by 1926. Mash itself is not widely used today, but the compound mash note, referring to a love letter, has enjoyed many happy years since its union in 1890.