squash (redirected from squashes)

squash: see gourd; pumpkin.

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squash

Any of various fruits of the genus Cucurbita in the gourd family, widely cultivated as vegetables and for livestock feed. The principal species are C. maxima and certain varieties of C. pepo. Summer squash is a quick-growing, small-fruited, nontrailing or bush type of C. pepo. Diverse in form, colour, and surface texture, the fruits do not store well and must be used soon after harvest (see zucchini). Winter varieties of squash, C. maxima, are long-vining, generally large-fruited, long-season types. Harvested fruits, in a wide range of sizes, shapes, and colours, can be stored many months if kept dry and well above freezing. The rinds are harder than those of summer squash and usually inedible. Examples include acorn squash and pumpkin. Native to the Americas, squash was widely cultivated by American Indians before Europeans arrived.

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squash (rackets)

Singles or doubles game played in a four-walled court with a long-handled racket and a rubber ball. A descendant of rackets, it probably originated in the mid-19th century at England's Harrow School. The standard international game uses a relatively soft, slow ball; hardball squash, popular in the U.S., is played on a narrower court with a harder, faster ball. The object of squash is to bounce, or rebound, the ball off the front wall in such a way as to defeat an opponent's attempt to reach and return it.

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squash¹

1. a game for two or four players played in an enclosed court with a small rubber ball and light long-handled rackets. The ball may be hit against any of the walls but must hit the facing wall at a point above a horizontal line

2. a similar game played with larger rackets and a larger pneumatic ball

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squash² US and Canadian

any of various marrow-like cucurbitaceous plants of the genus Cucurbita, esp C. pepo and C. moschata, the fruits of which have a hard rind surrounding edible flesh