hash

1 of 3

verb

ˈhash 

hashed; hashing; hashes

transitive verb

1

a

: to chop (food, such as meat and potatoes) into small pieces

b

: confuse, muddle

2

: to talk about : review

—often used with over or out

hash over a problem

hashing out their differences

hash

2 of 3

noun (1)

1

: chopped food

specifically : chopped meat mixed with potatoes and browned

2

: a restatement of something that is already known

the same old hash

3

a

: hodgepodge, jumble

b

: a confused muddle

made a hash of the whole project

4

: pound sign sense 2

hash

3 of 3

noun (2)

: hashish

Synonyms

Verb

• chop
• dice
• mince

Noun (1)

• agglomerate
• agglomeration
• alphabet soup
• assortment
• botch
• clutter
• collage
• crazy quilt
• farrago
• gallimaufry
• grab bag
• gumbo
• hodgepodge
• hotchpotch
• jambalaya
• jumble
• jungle
• litter
• macédoine
• medley
• mélange
• menagerie
• miscellanea
• miscellany
• mishmash
• mixed bag
• montage
• motley
• muddle
• olio
• olla podrida
• omnium-gatherum
• pastiche
• patchwork
• patchwork quilt
• potpourri
• ragbag
• ragout
• rummage
• salad
• salmagundi
• scramble
• shuffle
• smorgasbord
• stew
• tumble
• variety
• welter

Examples of hash in a Sentence

Verb

he hashed some roast beef, put it in a pie shell, and topped it with a layer of mashed potatoes

the bookkeeper had so hashed the figures it took weeks to straighten out the accounts

Noun (1)

the docudrama was a hash of facts, half-truths, speculation, and pure fiction

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Because the conversion works in only one direction—from plaintext to hash—there is no cryptographic means for converting the hashes back into plaintext. —Ars Technica, 27 Sep. 2024

Serena, with a big hair bow and baby-blue two-piece, marches back and forth across the villa to hash it out. —Arimeta Diop, Vulture, 19 Aug. 2024

Noun

It’s estimated that a quantum machine would take 24 hours to be able to reverse engineer a Bitcoin key from the SHA-256 hash with a machine running 13 million qubits – a far cry from Willow’s 105. —Nimrod Lehavi, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024

While other dads took their sons to Yankee stadium for a double header and a few hot dogs, mine took me to various Broadway theaters for matinees of Cabaret, Hello, Dolly!, or Hair, followed by an early dinner of roast beef hash at Sardi’s. —Adam Green, Vogue, 21 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

French hacher, from Old French hachier, from hache battle-ax, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German hāppa sickle; akin to Greek koptein to cut — more at capon

First Known Use

Verb

1615, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (1)

1653, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1948, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing hash

• hash browns
• hash house
• hash mark
• hash out
• hash over
• hash sign
• make a hash of
• red flannel hash
• settle one's hash

Kids Definition

hash

1 of 3 verb

ˈhash 

1

a

: to chop into small pieces

b

: confuse sense 3, muddle

2

: to talk about : discuss

hashed over the problem

hash

2 of 3 noun

1

: chopped meat mixed with potatoes and browned

2

: a mixture of many different things

hash

3 of 3 noun

: hashish

Etymology

Verb

from French hacher "to chop up into small pieces," from early French hachier (same meaning), from hache "battle-ax"; of Germanic origin — related to hatch entry 4, hatchet

Noun

a shortened form of hashish

Medical Definition

hash

noun

ˈhash 

: hashish