Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - hush

~1 v 1 hush! spoken used to tell people to be quiet or to comfort a child who is crying or upset  (Hush, now. Try to get to sleep.) 2 to make someone stop shouting, talking, crying etc 3 to stop shouting, talking etc hush sth up phr v to prevent the public from knowing about something dishonest or immoral  (The whole affair has been hushed up by school officials.) ~2 n 1 a period of silence that comes after there has been a lot of noise, shouting etc, especially because people are expecting something to happen  (a hush falls/descends (=everyone becomes quiet))  (A sudden hush descended on the crowd.) 2 can we have/let's have a bit of hush BrE spoken used to ask people, especially noisy children, to be quiet