to mushroom
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To expand into a mushroom shape; said especially of certain _ soft-nosed rifle-bullets used in big-game shooting, or of a dense cloud of smoke that spreads out high in the sky.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to mushroom” mean?
To expand into a mushroom shape; said especially of certain _ soft-nosed rifle-bullets used in big-game shooting, or of a dense cloud of smoke that spreads out high in the sky.
Is “to mushroom” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.