mash

 
Pronunciation: /maʃ/

verb

[with object]
  • 1reduce (a food or other substance) to a pulpy mass by crushing it: mash the beans to a paste (as adjective mashed) mashed potato
  • crush or smash (something) to a pulp: he almost had his head mashed by a slamming door
  • US & West Indian informal press forcefully on (something): the worst thing you can do is mash the brake pedal
  • US & West Indian informal attack or assault: they both got mashed up pretty bad
  • 2(in brewing) mix (powdered malt) with hot water to form wort: the barley is dried out over peat fires and mashed with water which flows through peat ground
  • 3Northern English (with reference to tea) brew or infuse: I’ve just mashed a pot of tea [no object]: we’d let the pot mash for ten minutes

noun

  • a soft mass made by crushing a substance into a pulp, sometimes with the addition of liquid: pound the garlic to a mash
  • [mass noun] British informal boiled and mashed potatoes, with milk and butter added: sausages and mash
  • [mass noun] bran mixed with hot water, given as a warm food to horses and other animals: a bucket of mash
  • [mass noun] (in brewing) a mixture of powdered malt and hot water, which is left to stand until the sugars dissolve to form the wort: the brewer now transfers the mash to a mash tun

Phrasal Verbs

mash something up

informal mix or combine two or more different elements: in my films I’ve always tried to artfully mash up genres Dinsdale mashes up dance styles like UK garage, house, and hip-hop with masterful aplomb

Origin:

Old English māsc (as a brewing term), of West Germanic origin; perhaps ultimately related to mix