crush

[ kruhsh ]
See synonyms for: crushcrushedcrushingcrusher on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to press or squeeze with a force that destroys or deforms.

  2. to squeeze or pound into small fragments or particles, as ore, stone, etc.

  1. to force out by pressing or squeezing; extract: to crush cottonseeds in order to produce oil.

  2. to rumple; wrinkle; crease.

  3. to smooth or flatten by pressure: to crush leather.

  4. to hug or embrace forcibly or strongly: He crushed her in his arms.

  5. to destroy, subdue, or suppress utterly: to crush a revolt.

  6. to overwhelm with confusion, chagrin, or humiliation, as by argumentation or a slighting action or remark; squelch.

  7. to oppress grievously.

  8. Archaic. to finish drinking (wine, ale, etc.).

verb (used without object)
  1. to become crushed.

  2. to advance with crushing; press or crowd forcibly.

noun
  1. the act of crushing; state of being crushed.

  2. a great crowd: a crush of shoppers.

  1. Informal.

    • an intense but usually short-lived infatuation with someone.

    • the object of such an infatuation: Who's your latest crush?

Verb Phrases
  1. crush on, Informal. to have an infatuation with; have a crush on: She’s been crushing on him for a year.

Idioms about crush

  1. crush it, Informal. to do something very well and with enthusiasm.

Origin of crush

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English cruschen, crusshen, from Middle French croi(s)sir, cruisir “to gnash one's teeth, make a crashing or cracking sound, crackle, rustle, smash,” Medieval Latin cruscīre “to crackle,” from Germanic; compare Gothic kriustan “to crunch, grind,” Old Swedish krusa, krosa “to crush,” krȳsta “to gnash (one's teeth),” Middle Low German krossen “to crush”

synonym study For crush

2. See break.

Other words for crush

Other words from crush

  • crush·a·ble, adjective
  • crush·a·bil·i·ty, noun
  • crush·a·bly, adverb
  • crusher, noun
  • un·crush·a·ble, adjective
  • un·crushed, adjective
  • well-crushed, adjective

Words Nearby crush

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use crush in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for crush (1 of 2)

crush1

/ (krʌʃ) /


verb(mainly tr)
  1. to press, mash, or squeeze so as to injure, break, crease, etc

  2. to break or grind (rock, ore, etc) into small particles

  1. to put down or subdue, esp by force: to crush a rebellion

  2. to extract (juice, water, etc) by pressing: to crush the juice from a lemon

  3. to oppress harshly

  4. to hug or clasp tightly: he crushed her to him

  5. to defeat or humiliate utterly, as in argument or by a cruel remark

  6. (intr) to crowd; throng

  7. (intr) to become injured, broken, or distorted by pressure

noun
  1. a dense crowd, esp at a social occasion

  2. the act of crushing; pressure

  1. a drink or pulp prepared by or as if by crushing fruit: orange crush

  2. informal

    • an infatuation: she had a crush on him

    • the person with whom one is infatuated

Origin of crush

1
C14: from Old French croissir, of Germanic origin; compare Gothic kriustan to gnash; see crunch

Derived forms of crush

  • crushable, adjective
  • crushability, noun
  • crusher, noun

British Dictionary definitions for crush (2 of 2)

crush2

/ (krʌʃ) /


noun
  1. vet science a construction designed to confine and limit the movement of an animal, esp a large or dangerous animal, for examination or to perform a procedure on it

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with crush

crush

see have a crush on.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.