crash

¹ American  

[krash] / kræʃ /

verb (used without object)

crashes, present (3rd person singular) crashed, past participle, past crashing present participle

1. to make a loud, clattering noise, as of something dashed to pieces.

2. to break or fall to pieces with noise.

3. (of moving vehicles, objects, etc.) to collide, especially violently and noisily.

4. to move or go with a crash; strike with a crash.

5. Aeronautics. to land in an abnormal manner, usually causing severe damage.

   The airliner crashed.

6. to collapse or fail suddenly, as a financial enterprise.

   The stock market crashed.

7. Informal. to gain admittance to a party, performance, etc., without an invitation, ticket, or permission.

8. Slang.

   1. to sleep.

   2. to have a temporary place to sleep or live without payment.

      He let me crash at his house.

   3. to fall asleep.

      I get home in the evening and I just crash till it's time for dinner.

9. Slang. to experience unpleasant sensations, as sudden exhaustion or depression, when a drug, especially an amphetamine, wears off.

10. Medicine/Medical Slang. to suffer cardiac arrest.

11. Ecology. (of a population) to decline rapidly.

12. Computers. to shut down because of a malfunction of hardware or software.

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verb (used with object)

crashes, present (3rd person singular) crashed, past participle, past crashing present participle

1. to break into pieces violently and noisily; shatter.

   Synonyms:

   smash, break

2. to force or drive with violence and noise (usually followed by in, through, out, etc.).

3. Aeronautics. to cause (an aircraft) to make a landing in an abnormal manner, usually damaging or wrecking the aircraft.

4. Informal.

   1. to gain admittance to, even though uninvited.

      to crash a party.

   2. to enter without a ticket, permission, etc..

      to crash the gate at a football game.

noun

1. a sudden loud noise, as of something being violently smashed or struck.

   the crash of thunder.

2. a breaking or falling to pieces with loud noise.

   the sudden crash of dishes.

3. a collision or crashing, as of automobiles, trains, etc.

4. the shock of collision and breaking.

5. a sudden and violent falling to ruin.

   Synonyms:

   ruin, failure

6. a sudden general collapse of a business enterprise, prosperity, the stock market, etc..

   the crash of 1929.

7. Aeronautics. an act or instance of crashing.

8. Ecology. a sudden, rapid decline in the size of a population.

adjective

1. characterized by an intensive effort, especially to deal with an emergency, meet a deadline, etc..

   a crash plan to house flood victims; a crash diet.

crash ² American  

[krash] / kræʃ /

noun

1. a plain-weave fabric of rough, irregular, or lumpy yarns, for toweling, dresses, etc.

2. Bookbinding. starched cotton fabric used to reinforce the spine of a bound book.

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crash ¹ British  

/ kræʃ /

verb

1. to make or cause to make a loud noise as of solid objects smashing or clattering

2. to fall or cause to fall with force, breaking in pieces with a loud noise as of solid objects smashing

3. (intr) to break or smash in pieces with a loud noise

4. (intr) to collapse or fail suddenly

   this business is sure to crash

5. to cause (an aircraft) to hit land or water violently resulting in severe damage or (of an aircraft) to hit land or water in this way

6. to cause (a car, etc) to collide with another car or other object or (of two or more cars) to be involved in a collision

7. to move or cause to move violently or noisily

   to crash through a barrier

8. informal short for gate-crash

9. (intr) (of a computer system or program) to fail suddenly and completely because of a malfunction

10. slang (intr) another term for crash out

11. informal to fail; be unsuccessful

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noun

1. an act or instance of breaking and falling to pieces

2. a sudden loud noise

   the crash of thunder

3. a collision, as between vehicles

4. a sudden descent of an aircraft as a result of which it hits land or water

5. the sudden collapse of a business, stock exchange, etc, esp one causing further financial failure

6. (modifier)

   1. requiring or using intensive effort and all possible resources in order to accomplish something quickly

      a crash programme

   2. sudden or vigorous

      a crash halt

      a crash tackle

7. informal a complete failure

crash ² British  

/ kræʃ /

noun

1. a coarse cotton or linen cloth used for towelling, curtains, etc

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• crasher
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• crashing
  present
• crashed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• crash
  simple
• crashes
  simple
• have crashed
  perfect
• has crashed
  perfect
• am crashing
  progressive
• are crashing
  progressive
• is crashing
  progressive
• have been crashing
  perfect progressive
• has been crashing
  perfect progressive

Past

• crashed
  simple
• had crashed
  perfect
• was crashing
  progressive
• were crashing
  progressive
• had been crashing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will crash
  simple
• will have crashed
  perfect
• will be crashing
  progressive
• will have been crashing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of crash¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; 1920–25 crash ¹ for def. 16; 1870–75 crash ¹ for def. 22; Middle English crasche, blend of crase “to break” and masche “to crush, pulp”; see origin at craze, mash ¹

Origin of crash²

First recorded in 1805–15; probably from Russian krashenína “painted or dyed coarse linen,” equivalent to kráshenyĭ “painted” (past participle of krásit' “to paint”) + -ina noun suffix

Explanation

Boom! Bam! Pow! A crash is when two things collide, or smash, into each other. Crash and smash have similar meanings and sounds. You can start to worry when you hear the word crash. Many people die in car and airplane crashes every year. Other crashes are less physical yet just as bad. In a stock-market crash, a lot of people lose a lot of money. You can also use crash as a verb. You'd better not crash your bike into the coffee shop window! If your computer crashes, you will probably lose all the data in it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

crash crashes crashed crashing

Brent crude futures jumped 9.6% to settle at $83.30 a barrel, the largest daily percentage gain since May 2020, when prices were climbing back from the Covid lockdown crash.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

Cricketer-turned-TV personality Flintoff was one of three co-hosts of the long-running BBC motoring show at the time of the crash.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

They added that Tran also failed to disclose the real cause of the crash when he filed a claim with Progressive Insurance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026

There was a time when economists treated a stock-market crash as a healthy, cleansing event for the broader economy.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026

“Are you both ready for a crash course in digging for treasure?”

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day

The FAA revoked that privilege in 2019 after the crashes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

But these strategies’ long-term success comes with a significant qualification: their occasional huge losses — known as momentum crashes.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

According to the CHP, unsecured loads contribute to thousands of crashes each year, which lead to serious injuries and death.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

Some may instead brighten when the explosion's shock wave crashes into surrounding material.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026

I reach for the clay jar before it crashes to the floor.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

President Masoud Pezeshkian is a functionary, selected in haste in 2024 to replace Ebrahim Raisi, whose helicopter crashed into a mountain.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

But VAR intervened, declaring that Embolo had crashed to the pitch in an effort to dupe the referee—an offense deemed worthy of ejection.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

Deputies were initially called at 3:20 a.m. to Pacific Coast Highway, near Paradise Cove Road, for reports of a vehicle that crashed into a pole, said Lt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026

Russell had a difficult start to qualifying when he crashed on his first lap after locking up on the entry to the long Luffield right-hander.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

She and Churro were in the safest place they’d been since the back wall of her house crashed in, and still the building shook.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

But all that glory gave way to grief Monday when a 4-1 loss to Belgium brought the U.S. crashing back to Earth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

But then came a foul: one robot barges into the goalkeeper, sending it crashing to the ground.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

How many more hits can it take before it all comes crashing down?

From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2026

Danni Wyatt-Hodge, now the tournament's leading run-scorer, kept up her superb form by crashing 89 not out.

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026

The possibility of a closed brain injury is why doctors fuss if you bang your head falling off a bicycle or crashing a car or getting hit hard in the head with anything.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

Related Words

• bump
• collapse
• collide
• ditch
• dive
• drop
• hurtle
• meet
• overturn
• plunge
• slip
• smash
• topple
• tumble