hash
hash — noun
1. a cooked dish made by cutting meat, potatoes, and other vegetables into very sma
a cooked dish made by cutting meat, potatoes, and other vegetables into very small pieces and then frying or baking the mixture until it is hot and slightly brown on the outside.
Nkechi made a delicious hash with leftover beef, onions, and potatoes for dinner.
collocation: make hash / hash of
The diner serves a corned beef hash topped with two fried eggs every morning.
countable: a hash of [ingredients]
Hash became popular as a way to use up leftover meat from Sunday roasts.
Jiwoo ordered a plate of vegetable hash with roasted sweet potatoes and kale.
collocation: vegetable hash
- corned beef hash
- vegetable hash
- roast beef hash
- hash browns
- make hash
- a plate of hash
Grammar Patterns
hash + of + [ingredients]
Usage Note
Usually uncountable (some hash, a plate of hash) but can be countable when specifying ingredients (a hash of pork and beans).
Common Mistakes
2. a short, informal word for hashish — a dark, sticky substance taken from cannabi
a short, informal word for hashish — a dark, sticky substance taken from cannabis plants. People smoke it or eat it to feel a strong change in their mental state.
The police found a small bag of hash in the back of his van.
Asher told his friends that smoking hash was illegal and carried serious penalties.
informal register; uncountable
In many countries, possessing even a gram of hash can lead to a prison sentence.
Élise smelled a sweet, earthy odour — someone in the flat next door was smoking hash.
collocation: smoke hash
- smoke hash
- a gram of hash
- buy hash
- possess hash
- hash pipe
- hashish
the full formal term
- cannabis resin
more formal and technical
Usage Note
Used mostly in spoken or informal written contexts. In formal writing, use hashish or cannabis resin instead.
Common Mistakes
3. the symbol (#), found on telephone keypads, computer keyboards, and used in soci
the symbol (#), found on telephone keypads, computer keyboards, and used in social media to mark topics (hashtags) or in programming to mark comments.
Press the hash key, then enter your four-digit voicemail password.
collocation: hash key (on phone keypad)
Reema added a hashtag by typing the hash symbol before the word "MondayMotivation."
usage: hash symbol in hashtags
The automated system said, "Please enter your account number followed by the hash sign."
collocation: hash sign
In many programming languages, the hash symbol marks a line that the computer should ignore.
computing: hash symbol for comments in code
Bilal could not find the hash key on his new laptop keyboard — it was beside the Enter key.
- hash key
- hash symbol
- hash sign
- hash tag
- hashtag
- pound sign
common in US English; from its use for pounds weight
- number sign
used in US English when # stands for 'number'
- octothorpe
the technical, rarely used name for the # symbol
Grammar Patterns
the hash key
hash symbol
Usage Note
In the US, the # symbol is commonly called the pound sign (from pounds weight). In the UK and many other countries, it is called hash or the hash symbol. On social media, # starts a hashtag which groups posts by topic.
Common Mistakes
4. to do something so poorly that the result is ruined or in a confused state; used
to do something so poorly that the result is ruined or in a confused state; used almost always in the fixed phrase 'make a hash of (something)'.
The contractor made a complete hash of the kitchen renovation, installing the sink in the wrong place.
fixed phrase: make a hash of + [task]
Isabela tried to build the bookshelf herself but made a hash of it, leaving screws left over.
The new intern made a terrible hash of the sales report, mixing up all the quarterly figures.
modifier: complete/terrible/awful hash
I made a real hash of the curry by adding salt twice instead of chilli powder.
- make a hash of
- make a complete hash of
- make a terrible hash of
- make an absolute hash of
- nail
informal opposite; 'nailed the presentation'
- succeed at
neutral opposite
Grammar Patterns
make + a + hash + of + [noun phrase]
Usage Note
Always used in the phrase make a hash of something. The hash cannot be separated from the phrase: you cannot say *do a hash* or *create a hash* with this meaning. Can be modified with adjectives like 'complete', 'absolute', 'terrible'.
Common Mistakes
To do something very poorly or unsuccessfully.
Maya made a hash of her first driving test.
Did Diego make a hash of the presentation again?
hash — verb
1. to cut meat, vegetables, or other food into very small pieces, usually with a kn
to cut meat, vegetables, or other food into very small pieces, usually with a knife or in a food processor, often in preparation for cooking.
Felix spent the morning hashing onions and peppers for the chili cook-off.
collocation: hash + vegetables
The recipe tells you to hash the leftover roast beef before mixing it with the potatoes.
passive: hash [food] before mixing
Instead of a knife, you can use a food processor to hash the ingredients quickly.
Grandma always hashed her own corned beef by hand because she liked the chunky texture.
- hash meat
- hash vegetables
- hash potatoes
- hash by hand
Grammar Patterns
hash + [food items]
Usage Note
This sense is less common in everyday speech than the noun form. People usually say chop or dice instead. It appears most often in written recipes or old-fashioned cookbooks.
Common Mistakes
2. to mix things up in a confusing or disorderly way so that they no longer make se
to mix things up in a confusing or disorderly way so that they no longer make sense or are no longer well-organised.
Kevin had hashed up all the paperwork, mixing the client files from different years together.
phrasal verb: hash up + [things] (separable)
Someone hashed up the schedule and now the afternoon and morning workshops are swapped.
The receptionist accidentally hashed the reservations up, giving our room to another guest.
separable: hash + [noun] + up
Lucas hashed up the address labels and sent the invitations to the wrong people.
- hash up
- hash up the papers
- hash up the schedule
- get hashed up
Grammar Patterns
hash + [something] + up
hash up + [something]
Usage Note
Very rare in modern English. Most speakers use mess up, mix up, or jumble instead. This sense appears mainly in older or regional British English.
Common Mistakes
3. to talk about a problem, idea, or disagreement in detail, often for a long time,
to talk about a problem, idea, or disagreement in detail, often for a long time, with the goal of reaching an agreement or a clear understanding.
The team spent three hours hashing out the details of the new marketing plan.
phrasal verb: hash out + [details/plan]
Quan and Maeve sat in the café hashing over their travel itinerary for Southeast Asia.
phrasal verb: hash over + [topic]
The lawyers spent weeks hashing out the terms of the contract before anyone would sign.
Let us get together next week and hash out the budget for the new school year.
collocation: hash out a budget/plan/agreement
- hash out
- hash over
- hash out the details
- hash out a plan
- hash out differences
- hash out an agreement
- thrash out
more intense; suggests a difficult or heated discussion
- work out
more general; can mean finding a solution by any method, not just talking
- hammer out
suggests reaching a final agreement after effort
- avoid
to deliberately not discuss
- brush aside
to dismiss without proper discussion
Grammar Patterns
hash + out + [issue]
hash + over + [issue]
hash + [issue] + out
Usage Note
Hash out implies a focused discussion aimed at reaching a conclusion. Hash over (more common in US English) suggests re-examining something already discussed. Both are separable: you can hash out a problem or hash a problem out.
Common Mistakes
hash out
phrasal verbto discuss something in great detail until a decision or agreement is reached.
The committee met three times to hash out the new safety guidelines for the factory.
Before we begin construction, we need to hash out who is paying for each part of the project.
hash over
phrasal verbto talk about something again, often re-examining past events or ideas that have already been discussed.
The old friends sat on the porch hashing over memories of their college days.
There is no point hashing over the same arguments again — we already made our decision.
hash up
phrasal verbto make a mess of something or mix it up in a confused way; to do something badly.
He completely hashed up the presentation by showing the slides in the wrong order.
I trust you with this job — please do not hash it up like last time.
Word family
- hashedadjectiveC1
- hashingnounC1
- hashishnounC1
Synonym discussion
Sense: verb/3
All four phrasal verbs describe reaching a conclusion through discussion, but they differ in intensity and focus. Hash out suggests a calm, thorough, step-by-step conversation where people go through every detail — like coworkers discussing a project plan. Thrash out is more forceful and implies disagreement or conflict: two sides argue intensely before reaching a compromise. Hammer out suggests persistent effort, like blacksmiths striking metal until it takes shape, often used for final agreements after tough negotiations. Work out is the most general and can mean finding a solution by any method, not just talking. For example: 'We hashed out the wedding guest list over coffee,' versus 'They thrashed out the contract terms in a heated three-day meeting.'
Common collocations
Etymology
The word 'hash' comes from French 'hacher', meaning 'to chop', which itself comes from Old French 'hache' (axe). The food sense appeared in English in the 1600s, describing chopped meat mixed with vegetables. By the early 1800s, the expression 'make a hash of' emerged, comparing a ruined task to chopped-up food scraps. The # symbol was called 'hash' because the pattern of criss-cross lines resembles chopped or diced food. The drug sense is a shortened form of 'hashish', which entered English from Arabic حشيش (ḥashīsh, literally 'grass' or 'herb').