any of numerous annual trailing plants of the genus Cucurbita grown for their fleshy edible fruits
"The farmer harvested ripe squash from his garden, adding them to the pot roast for dinner."
edible fruit of a squash plant; eaten as a vegetable
"We added some roasted butternut squash to the soup tonight."
a game played in an enclosed court by two or four players who strike the ball with long-handled rackets
"The team practiced their serve and volley strategies before the squash match began at noon."
A sport played in a walled court with a soft rubber ball and bats like tennis racquets.
"The musquash, also known as squash, is a small semi-aquatic rodent found throughout North America."
A plant and its fruit of any of a few species of the genus Cucurbita, or gourd kind.
Cucurbita maxima, including hubbard squash, great winter squash, buttercup squash, and some varieties of pumpkins.
Muskrat.
In plain English: Squash is a round, hollow ball used for playing indoor racquet sports where you hit it against walls and each other to keep it moving without letting it touch the ground twice.
"He bought a bag of frozen watermelons to make homemade squash popsicles for his kids on hot summer days."
Usage: Use "squash" to refer either to hard winter varieties like butternut that are often roasted whole or soft summer types used in soups, distinguishing it from pumpkins which typically have thinner skins and sweeter flesh. In sports contexts, the term describes a racket game played on an enclosed court where players hit a depressible ball against each other's forehands without letting it bounce twice.
To beat or press into pulp or a flat mass; to crush.
"The giant hand of watermelon was squashed by the falling weight, turning its juicy interior into a red pulp."
In plain English: To squash something means to press it hard until it is flat, broken, or completely destroyed.
"The boy tried to squash the bug with his hand, but he missed and only stepped on its shell."
The word squash comes from the Middle English squachen, which was borrowed from Old French. It originally meant to crush or shatter something.