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to mushroom

to mushroom

12 4.1
To become much larger or more common very quickly
  • verb
  • /ˈmʌʃrum/
: multiplicarse
  • Triple-A-rated instruments mushroomed from just a handful to thousands and thousands.
  • population mushroomed
  • groups mushroomed
  • institutions mushroomed

Yeah, lines were crossed that have since, you know, mushroomed into giant court cases.

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Examples

  • Yeah, lines were crossed that have since, you know, mushroomed into giant court cases.

  • As you can see behind me, what started as a peaceful protest has now mushroomed into a substantial demonstration.

  • We are in a real crisis situation that could mushroom into something worse than the Great Depression.

  • Questions are mushrooming left and right.

  • But it has mushroomed to such an extent now.

  • Part 6, he notes, has mushroomed from seven sections to 28.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Now, pilot projects like Chicago's are mushrooming around the country.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Gated communities, sports, and other clubs mushroomed at unprecedented rates.

    Academic text (2005)
  • But every available piece of anecdotal evidence suggests that the recruitment problem has mushroomed into a recruitment crisis.

    Academic text (2000)
  • The number of online courses has mushroomed since the start of the pandemic.

Synonyms

to proliferate
vsto mushroom
23 9.5

Increase quickly in number or make something increase quickly

focuses more on quick growth, increase, or wide spread
to spread like wildfire
vsto mushroom
  • Informal
10 3.0

To become known by many people very quickly

is similar but slightly less extreme in speed or breadth
to zoom
vsto mushroom
3 3.7

To rise very quickly in amount or value

emphasizes rapid spread or growth rather than quick increase in value

Antonyms

264 3.7

To become less over time, for example in value or health

159 2.8

Become less in amount or value

147 3.7

To become less in size, importance, or value

Phrasal Verbs

Start to grow or spread very quickly across an area

Compounds

A large cloud that rises after a big explosion and looks like a mushroom

A mushroom cap filled with a tasty mix like cheese or meat usually cooked in an oven

An edible mushroom from East Asia with a brown rounded top used in cooking

A sauce made with mushrooms to add flavor to foods like meat or pasta

A thick smooth soup that people make from mushrooms and milk or cream and use in casseroles

A soft grey mushroom that grows in flat clusters on dead wood and is used in cooking

A small white mushroom with long thin stems used in Asian cooking

1 5.3

A small mushroom you can eat with a white cap and long stem used in Asian cooking

A large cloud shaped like a mushroom that rises after a powerful explosion

1 8.6

A mushroom used in religious ceremonies that makes people see or feel things

An edible mushroom that grows in grassy places

A mushroom from East Asia used in cooking with a dark cap and a tough, inedible stem

An edible mushroom with a smooth orange or brown cap and a velvety stalk that grows in clusters

1 9.8

A gathering where people eat mushrooms to see or feel things that are not real

A brown sauce made from mushrooms and red wine served with meat

A common white mushroom that grows in fields and people eat

A honey-colored edible mushroom that grows near tree roots in late summer and autumn and must be cooked before eating

An edible mushroom with a tall stalk and a round cap that grows in woods in autumn

mushroom poisoning
  • Specialized
1 4.0

A sickness caused by eating poisonous wild mushrooms

A round wild mushroom that releases a cloud of tiny spores when touched

A small edible mushroom with a thin stalk that grows on rotting wood

A mushroom that grows in a circle on grass

A white, jelly-like food often sold dried and used in East Asian soups and desserts

mushroom party
  • Informal
1 7.6

A social event where people share mushroom dishes and decorations

mushroom coral
  • Specialized
1 7.5

A hard coral with a flat, round body that usually sits alone on the sea floor

mushroom anchor
  • Specialized
1 7.4

A heavy metal device with a bowl-shaped head that digs into soft sea floor to hold boats

1 7.5

A mushroom you can eat that grows in clusters in sandy soil under cottonwood trees

A mushroom you can eat with a soft, sponge-like head covered in pits and ridges

An edible yellowish mushroom that often turns red when bruised in woodlands

A poisonous mushroom with a wrinkled cap that looks like a brain

9.9

A slime mold that grows on decaying plants and wood

miter mushroom
  • Specialized
9.9

A pale mushroom with a saddle-shaped cap and a stalk with lines and small holes

An edible East Asian mushroom used in cooking with a golden to dark brown cap and a stem not eaten

green mushroom pimple
  • Specialized
9.9

A green mold that grows on mushroom tops and makes them not safe to eat

grainy club mushroom
  • Specialized
9.3

A small fungus with a grainy surface and a club shape

A large mushroom you can eat with a hollow stem and a broad white cap found in grasslands

A mushroom whose cap turns into black ink when it gets old

roof mushroom
  • Specialized
9.8

A mushroom with a pointed cap like a house roof that grows in damp places in early summer

A fungus that grows on some mushrooms and makes them orange and bumpy

A dark brown or black mushroom used in Asian cooking

pore mushroom
  • Specialized
9.5

A woody mushroom with many small tubes or holes under it that hold spores

sawdust mushroom
  • Specialized
9.8

A black mushroom with wrinkled caps that grows in piles of sawdust

shaggymane mushroom
  • Specialized
7.2

A common mushroom with a long shaggy white cap that you can eat

A mushroom with a sticky, shiny cap that can be poisonous

A long thin white mushroom with a small cap that people use in Japanese cooking

white slime mushroom
  • Specialized
9.9

A white, soft growth that lives on dead wood and decaying plants in damp places

How Fast

to skyrocket
82 4.1
to mushroom
12 4.1
to grow
∞ 1.0
to creep
181 4.2

Surface Forms

mushroom infinitive
mushroomed past
mushroomed past participle
mushrooming present participle
mushrooms third person singular

Etymology

The verb mushroom comes from the way real mushrooms seem to appear and spread quickly after rain, so people used the image of fast-growing fungi. That's why when something 'mushrooms' it means it grows or increases very fast.