crush

[kruhsh] /krʌʃ/
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.
3.
to force out by pressing or squeezing; extract:
to crush cottonseeds in order to produce oil.
4.
to rumple; wrinkle; crease.
5.
to smooth or flatten by pressure:
to crush leather.
6.
to hug or embrace forcibly or strongly:
He crushed her in his arms.
7.
to destroy, subdue, or suppress utterly:
to crush a revolt.
8.
to overwhelm with confusion, chagrin, or humiliation, as by argumentation or a slighting action or remark; squelch.
9.
to oppress grievously.
10.
Archaic. to finish drinking (wine, ale, etc.).
verb (used without object)
11.
to become crushed.
12.
to advance with crushing; press or crowd forcibly.
noun
13.
the act of crushing; state of being crushed.
14.
a great crowd:
a crush of shoppers.
15.
Informal.
  1. an intense but usually short-lived infatuation.
  2. the object of such an infatuation:
    Who is your latest crush?
Origin
1300-50; Middle English crus-chen < Middle French cruisir < Germanic; compare Old Swedish krusa, krosa, Middle Low German krossen to crush
Related forms
crushable, adjective
crushability, noun
crushably, adverb
crusher, noun
uncrushable, adjective
uncrushed, adjective
well-crushed, adjective
Synonyms
1. crumple, rumple. 2. pulverize, powder, mash, crumble. See break. 7. quell, overcome, quash.
Examples from the web for crush
  • The crowd of new participants was mirrored by the crush of visitors.
  • One of my good friends has had a crush on a guy for several months.
  • The army then moved into the town to crush the revolt.
  • crush the chalk into a fine powder by tapping it repeatedly with a hammer.
  • They could crush native mosquito populations and block the spread of disease.
  • With a wooden spoon, pound mint leaves with sugar to coarsely crush.
  • Use a mallet or meat pounder to crush the peppercorns, but not too fine.
  • And it may be true that protesters to a message may buy up the product, but that does not crush the right to speak.
  • The head helps support powerful jaw muscles that allow the turtles to crush shellfish.
  • Too bad it won't land on my house and crush it when no one is home.
British Dictionary definitions for crush

crush1

/krʌʃ/
verb (mainly transitive)
1.
to press, mash, or squeeze so as to injure, break, crease, etc
2.
to break or grind (rock, ore, etc) into small particles
3.
to put down or subdue, esp by force: to crush a rebellion
4.
to extract (juice, water, etc) by pressing: to crush the juice from a lemon
5.
to oppress harshly
6.
to hug or clasp tightly: he crushed her to him
7.
to defeat or humiliate utterly, as in argument or by a cruel remark
8.
(intransitive) to crowd; throng
9.
(intransitive) to become injured, broken, or distorted by pressure
noun
10.
a dense crowd, esp at a social occasion
11.
the act of crushing; pressure
12.
a drink or pulp prepared by or as if by crushing fruit: orange crush
13.
(informal)
  1. an infatuation: she had a crush on him
  2. the person with whom one is infatuated
Derived Forms
crushable, adjective
crushability, noun
crusher, noun
Word Origin
C14: from Old French croissir, of Germanic origin; compare Gothic kriustan to gnash; see crunch

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
Word Origin and History for crush
v.

mid-14c., from Old French cruissir (Modern French écraser), variant of croissir "to gnash (teeth), crash, break," perhaps from Frankish *krostjan "to gnash" (cf. Gothic kriustan, Old Swedish krysta "to gnash"). Figurative sense of "to humiliate, demoralize" is c.1600. Related: Crushed; crushing. Italian crosciare, Catalan cruxir, Spanish crujirare "to crack" are Germanic loan-words.

n.

1590s, "act of crushing," from crush (v.). Meaning "thick crowd" is from 1806. Sense of "person one is infatuated with" is first recorded 1884; to have a crush on is from 1913.

Slang definitions & phrases for crush

crush

noun
  1. A passing infatuation: That's a crush, Manny is love (1895+)
  2. thick crowd; heavily crowded place (1806+)
verb

To humiliate someone; reduce someone to helpless dismay: Her snub crushed me (1610+)

Related Terms

have a crush on someone, orange crush


Idioms and Phrases with crush

crush

see: have a crush on