crush
/kɹʌʃ/ noun, verb
Forms crushes crushing crushed
- noun A violent collision or compression; a crash; destruction; ruin.
- noun Violent pressure, as of a moving crowd.
- noun A violent crowding.
- noun A crowd that produces uncomfortable pressure. “a crush at a reception”
- noun (slang) A group or gang.
- noun A crowd control barrier.
- noun A drink made by squeezing the juice out of fruit.
- noun (informal) An infatuation with somebody one is not dating. “I've had a huge crush on her since we met many years ago.”
- verb To press between two hard objects; to squeeze so as to alter the natural shape or integrity, or to force together into a mass. “to crush grapes”
- verb To reduce to fine particles by pounding or grinding. “to crush quartz”
- verb (figurative) To overwhelm by pressure or weight. “After the corruption scandal, the opposition crushed the ruling party in the elections”
- verb (figurative, colloquial) To do impressively well at (sports events; performances; interviews; etc.). “They had a gig recently at Madison Square—totally crushed it!”
- verb To oppress or grievously burden.
- verb To overcome completely; to subdue totally. “The sultan's black guard crushed every resistance bloodily.”
- verb (intransitive) To be or become broken down or in, or pressed into a smaller volume or area, by external weight or force. “an eggshell crushes easily”
- verb (intransitive, transitive) To feel infatuation or unrequited love. “She's crushing on him.”
Synonyms
squash ace comminute pulverize overtake pulverise slay at kill crushed leather jam press puppy love calf love infatuation crunch compaction oppress suppress squelch mash squeeze beat beat out shell trounce vanquish smash demolish break down
Etymology
From Middle English cruschen (“to crush, smash, squeeze, squash”), from Old French croissir (“to crush”), from Late Latin *crusciō (“to crush”), from Frankish *krustijan (“to crush, squeeze, squash”), from Proto-Germanic *kreustaną (“to crush, grind, strike, smash”).
Cognate with Middle Low German tôkrosten (“to crush, shatter”), Swedish krysta (“to squeeze”), Danish kryste (“to squash”), Icelandic kreista (“to squeeze, squash”), Faroese kroysta (“to squeeze”), Gothic 𐌺𐍂𐌹𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽 (kriustan, “to gnash”). Akin also to Middle Dutch crosen (“to bruise, crush”), Middle Low German krossen, krö̂sen, tôkrö̂sen (“to break, shatter”), Old Swedish krusa (“to crush”).
Webster’s 1913
- verb To press or bruise between two hard bodies; to squeeze, so as to destroy the natural shape or integrity of the parts, or to force together into a mass; as, to crush grapes.
- verb To reduce to fine particles by pounding or grinding; to comminute; as, to crush quartz.
- verb To be or become broken down or in, or pressed into a smaller compass, by external weight or force; as, an eggshell crushes easily.
- noun A violent collision or compression; a crash; destruction; ruin.
Etymology [OE. cruschen, crousshen, Of. cruisir, croissir, fr. LL. cruscire, prob. of Ger. origin, from a derivative of the word seen in Goth. kruistan to gnash; akin to Sw. krysta to squeeze, Dan. kryste, Icel. kreysta.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “crush”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details