Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Any of numerous eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Fungi, which lack chlorophyll and vascular tissue and range in form from a single cell to a body mass of branched filamentous hyphae that often produce specialized fruiting bodies. The kingdom includes the yeasts, molds, smuts, and mushrooms.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A plant belonging to the group Fungi (which see).
- n. In pathol., a spongy morbid excrescence, as proud flesh formed in wounds.
Wiktionary
- n. Any member of the kingdom Fungi; a eukaryotic organism typically having chitin cell walls but no chlorophyll or plastids. Fungi may be unicellular or multicellular.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Bot.) Any one of the fungi, a large and very complex group of thallophytes of low organization, -- the molds, mildews, rusts, smuts, mushrooms, toadstools, puff balls, and the allies of each. See fungi.
- n. (Med.) A spongy, morbid growth or granulation in animal bodies, as the proud flesh of wounds.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an organism of the kingdom Fungi lacking chlorophyll and feeding on organic matter; ranging from unicellular or multicellular organisms to spore-bearing syncytia
Etymologies
- From Latin fungus ("mushroom"). Compare Ancient Greek σπόγγος (spongos). (Wiktionary)
- Latin; perhaps akin to Greek spongos, sphongos, sponge. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Moreover, the fungus is apparently more lethal under moist conditions, yet, at many affected sites, warm years are comparatively dry.”
“I think foot fungus is a couple of rungs up the evolutionary ladder from OSTLL”
Think Progress » Maddow Corrects GOP Rep. Schock On Basic Facts Of Abdulmuttalab Case
“A deadly fungus is making frogs croak on the tiny island of Montserrat.”
“Rabbits die, ballerinas fall, fungus is a form of rot sometimes, earth festers, someone shoots monsters, warthogs gore and eyes rot.”
“Just ask any farmer, fungus is as big or even bigger enemy to their crops than insects.”
“The A2 fungus is considered the most important threat to potato cultivation worldwide.”
Did You Know? A fungus from Mexico and the Irish potato famine
“In fact, in the old reactor, a new radiation-seeking fungus is thriving:”
“Based on the fungus, bat researchers are calling it white-nose syndrome, but according to the NYT article, the fungus is believed to just be a symptom, not the cause of the sickness.”
“The fungus is expected to reach Latin America in 5 to 10 years, maybe 20.”
Bananas Represent Everything That Is Wrong With Our Food System - The Consumerist
“But it's really not so surprising that a biomolecule other than chlorophyll (which isn't present in fungus anyway) may have the ability to turn EM energy 'packets' into food [chemical energy] for the plant.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘fungus’.
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Mycology
basidiomycete, initiation, fungus, shiitake, inoculum, substrate, fruit body, mycelium, hyphal growth, oyster, spawn run, polypore and 207 more...
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Which see
A list of words with definitions containing the phrase "which see."
moteur, fancy, grass, frog, Art, illusion, battleship, duck, beaver, Seder, clam, zythiaceæ and 118 more...
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Nature and Environment
north, east, west, mountain, sea, beach, river, northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest, island and 205 more...
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Colors/Patterns/Prints/Textures
fritillary, chartreuse, tortoise-shell, brindle, burnt orange, cerulean, amaranth, sandy, amber, mold, fungus, kiwi and 65 more...
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rodrigo's list
aspidistra, mosaic, murmur, sussuration, clap, assiduous, hasp, clench, rhythm, solemn, seldom, slash and 18 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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The Sog Collection
My big word list.
chaos, flaccid, empirical, flotsam, cacophony, grumble, assuage, awe, romance, mortality, coalesce, fortuitous and 3282 more...
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The O.U.P. Junior Dictionary Death Row
Another news story about words being removed from a dictionary before their time. See also the list of words added to the dictionary.
carol, cracker, holly, ivy, mistletoe, dwarf, elf, goblin, abbey, aisle, altar, bishop and 137 more...
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GPaX. Words.
excogitate, clarity, obscurity, tangential, interesting, regurgitate, mycelium, degradation, unladen, swallow, klein, quote and 120 more...
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Kaichi's Wordie Darlings, or I'm a Lo...
persnickety, discombobulated, braggadoccio, anthropomorphous, antelucan, confluxible, anomalous, poseur, gallivant, poppycock, falderal, gewgaw and 705 more...
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silly, silly words
besnotted, skedaddle, humdinger, pamplemousse, pantalones, underpants gnomes, underoos, herpes zoster, possums, meat slurry, sausage, peevish and 256 more...
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words i hate
salve, puncture, ointment, suckling, milky, sinew, lymph, moist, membrane, fungus, secretion, crotch
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Ugly Words
Words that are visually, sonically, or by definition unpleasant.
kumquat, squat, poke, vomit, chunk, globule, phlegm, sac, armpit, crotch, fecund, fecal and 26 more...
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Words I absolutely loathe.
moist, supple, twelfth, secrete, birthday, y'all, whet, fungus, penal, chillax, cupboard, gyrate and 17 more...
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Horrid Words
Icky words
lactate, lukewarm, vestige, fungus, gondola, critter, vacuole, guacamole, scab, juice, ghost, vespa and 5 more...
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Nefarious Splendor
There are no words in the world I like better than these.
nelipot, gambol, wombat, sarky, beatnik, eggiweg, mastodon, fungus, glossolalia, clavicle, kalopsia, moniker and 13 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for fungus.

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