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mash up

B1 informal separable transitive
In simple words

Squash something soft into a paste, OR mix two different songs or things together to make something new.

Literal meaning: To press and crush something — 'mash' means to squash, and 'up' intensifies the action.

Meanings

1 A2 neutral

To crush a soft food into a smooth or lumpy paste.

"He mashed up the avocados with a fork and added lime juice."

Grammar: separable
2 B1 idiomatic informal

To combine elements of two or more songs, videos, or cultural products into a new creative work.

"The DJ mashed up a classic hip-hop beat with a current pop chorus and the crowd loved it."

"Girl Talk has made a career out of mashing up dozens of songs into a single track."

— General music press reference to DJ Girl Talk (Gregg Gillis), widely reported in Rolling Stone and Wired
Grammar: separable
3 C1 idiomatic slang

(Caribbean English) To ruin, damage, or destroy something completely.

"Those bad reviews really mashed up his reputation."

Grammar: separable
Usage notes

In cooking, it is straightforwardly literal. In music and digital culture, a 'mashup' (noun) is a popular format blending two or more songs. In Jamaican English, it also means to destroy or ruin. The noun 'mashup' is spelled as one word.

Commonly used with

potatoes music tracks songs ideas ingredients

Forms

Base
mash up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
mashes up
he/she/it
Past simple
mashed up
yesterday
Past participle
mashed up
have + pp
-ing form
mashing up
continuous

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Synonyms

crush blend combine mix puree fuse

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