mash

UK/mæʃ/US/mæʃ/

verbB13 meanings Common in everyday speech and writing · #3,963 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: mashed, mashing, mashes

To mash food is to crush it until it turns soft and lumpy — potatoes under a masher, a banana pressed with the back of a fork, peas flattened against the side of the plate. No blade and no blender, just pressing.

In Britain mash is the noun for mashed potato, and sausage and mash is a whole meal in two words. Brewers mash grain in hot water before fermenting it, and a farmer gives a tired horse a warm bran mash. To mash something up is to smash it to pieces, and a mash-up in music is two songs blended into one. Mashed in very casual British speech means drunk, so keep an ear on the company. Hold mash apart from smash and crush: mashing is patient and thorough, and it leaves the food in one soft heap rather than in bits.

Definitions of mash

1verbmashTo crush cooked food until it is soft and lumpy.B1
“Mash the potatoes with butter and a splash of warm milk.”
- Said"Mash the potatoes while they're hot; they go lumpy if you wait."
- WrittenHe mashed the bananas with a fork and folded them into the flour for the bread.
- UsedMash with butter and a splash of milk until no lumps remain.
- ContrastMash, not chop. Chopping leaves pieces you can see; mashing leaves one smooth mass. chop →
- Not thisYou do not mash a raw carrot. Mashing needs something cooked and soft.
- SimplyMash the potato. Now it is easy to eat.
Patternmash + noun (potatoes, bananas, beans) · mashed potato · mash sth up / with a fork · a potato masher
2nounpotatoMashed potato (British).B1
“He ordered sausages, mash and onion gravy.”
3nounmixtureA mixture of grain and hot water used in brewing, or of bran and water fed to animals.C1
“The mash sits in the tun for an hour before the liquid is drawn off.”

Remember it

sMASH → a slow, soft smash

Smash the potatoes, but slowly, with a fork: mash them until they are soft, with a few lumps left.

hooks ontosmash

Where it comes from

Mash is Old English mǣsċ, from Proto-Germanic *maiskaz, 'mixture, mash', and the root under that, Proto-Indo-European *meyḱ-, meant to mix. So mash and mix are relatives, and the brewer's mash — grain stirred into hot water — is the family's oldest job. German Meisch and Swedish mäsk are the same word still at work.

Proto-Indo-European
*meyḱ-
Proto-Indo-European
*meyǵ-
Proto-Germanic
*maiskaz
Old English
mǣsċ
Middle English
mash
English, today
mash

Built from

*maiskō · Proto-Germanic — mixture, mash
*meyḱ- · Proto-Indo-European — to mix

From Middle English mash, from Old English mǣsċ, māsċ, māx, from Proto-Germanic maiskaz, maiskō (“mixture, mash”), from Proto-Indo-European meyǵ-, meyḱ- (“to mix”). Akin to German Meisch, Maische (“mash”), (compare meischen, maischen (“to mash, wash”)), Swedish mäsk (“mash”), and to Old English miscian (“to mix”). See mix.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Definitions of mash

1verbmashTo crush cooked food until it is soft and lumpy.B1

“Mash the potatoes with butter and a splash of warm milk.”

Said"Mash the potatoes while they're hot; they go lumpy if you wait."
WrittenHe mashed the bananas with a fork and folded them into the flour for the bread.
UsedMash with butter and a splash of milk until no lumps remain.
ContrastMash, not chop. Chopping leaves pieces you can see; mashing leaves one smooth mass. chop →
Not thisYou do not mash a raw carrot. Mashing needs something cooked and soft.
SimplyMash the potato. Now it is easy to eat.

Patternmash + noun (potatoes, bananas, beans) · mashed potato · mash sth up / with a fork · a potato masher

2nounpotatoMashed potato (British).B1

“He ordered sausages, mash and onion gravy.”

3nounmixtureA mixture of grain and hot water used in brewing, or of bran and water fed to animals.C1

“The mash sits in the tun for an hour before the liquid is drawn off.”