# mushrooming

Pronunciation: say "MUSH-room-ing" /ˈmʌʃˌɹuːmɪŋ/

## Noun

1. Rapid or explosive growth in number, size, or extent.
   - Simple: Fast, sudden growth, when something grows or spreads very quickly.
   - _The mushrooming of suburban developments has reshaped the region's farmland._
   - _Analysts pointed to the mushrooming of household debt as a warning sign._
3. The act of collecting mushrooms, especially gathering wild ones from fields or woods.
   - Simple: The activity of going out to pick wild mushrooms.
   - _Mushrooming after the first fall rains can fill a basket with chanterelles._
   - _Local guides offer mushrooming trips through the old-growth woods each September._
4. The forming of a wide, rounded shape resembling a mushroom, as when a soft tip flattens and spreads under force.
   - Simple: The way the end of something spreads out into a wide, round shape like a mushroom top.
   - _The mushrooming of the bullet on impact increased the severity of the wound._
   - _Gunsmiths examined the mushrooming of the soft lead round after firing._

## Verb

2. Present participle of mushroom. — present participle and gerund of mushroom
   - Simple: Present participle of mushroom. Use this form for something growing or spreading very fast right now.
   - _Demand for the vaccine was mushrooming across the country._
   - _Housing prices kept mushrooming despite government efforts to cool the market._

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/mushrooming (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).