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DictionarymushroomFleshy fungus
noun / adjective / verb

mushroom

MUSH-ruum/ˈmʌʃrʊm/

A fungus typically consisting of a stalk and a cap.

The mushroom has a broad brown cap and a pale stem.

A single fresh mushroom with a broad brown cap and stout pale stem, tilted slightly to reveal the gills beneath the cap.
Etymology
mushroomOld Frenchmushroom

Old French meisseron already named a fungus, but its deeper origin is uncertain. In English, the word narrowed from larger fungi generally to chiefly stem-and-cap varieties, especially edible ones.

In context

WIRED6:35
It doesn't hurt the fungus itself to pick the mushroom. If you could anthropomorphize, a lot of fungi would prefer to have their mushrooms picked because that's how they end up dispersing their spores around.
Botanist Answers Plant Questions From Twitter | Tech Support | WIRED

More examples

  • She serves creamy mushroom soup with crusty bread.
  • The explosion sends a mushroom cloud into the sky.
  • Repair costs mushroom when small problems go unchecked.

Forms

mushroom · mushrooms · mushroomed · mushrooming

Similar words

fungus
Broader term including molds and yeasts as well as mushrooms.
toadstool
Usually suggests an inedible or poisonous mushroom, without scientific precision.