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

It saw a surge of popularity among analysts after correctly anticipating the 2008 stock-market crash.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

Health AI needs its own crash test: a rotating set of real clinical cases, kept confidential, presented to any AI that Americans consult for medical advice.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

But what makes Barker’s saga different from any other rock doc is that Barker also survived a plane crash that left his best friends dead and his body covered with terrible burns.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Khun Aiyawatt 'Top' Srivaddhanaprabha is currently chairman after his father Khun Vichai died in a helicopter crash outside the stadium in 2019.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

“That was such a big crash since you built such a big tower!”

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

The MAX 7, the smallest in the family, finally won FAA certification this week after years of delays following two MAX 8 fatal crashes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

According to a World Bank study, crashes already cost India an estimated 3-5% of its GDP each year through lost productivity, healthcare costs and disability.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Even so, state data for the 2020-2025 study period showed there were two human deaths, more than 80 injuries and $14.7 million in estimated health expenses and vehicle repairs from crashes with ungulates.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

After an eventful two-month stretch for the stock market that featured one of the biggest momentum crashes in recent memory, investors who managed to sit tight through it all are being rewarded once again.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

But behind us the attack crashes ever nearer.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

They have all his awards and guitars and stuff and the velvet slippers he had on when the plane crashed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

It crashed around 1:30 p.m. local time south of Salado, which is about 50 miles north of Austin, Texas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

The drone eventually crashed into a sunflower field, Radev said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 8, 2026

The moon has a brand new crater as of Wednesday, thanks to a rogue SpaceX rocket that crashed into Earth’s nearest neighbor at 5,400 miles an hour.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

As the waves crashed, they froze in midair.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Earlier in the day, a Jetstar pilot was forced to apply the brakes suddenly to avoid crashing into a Qatar Airways jet.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

The shift helps explain why bitcoin has remained stuck around $60,000 after crashing from its record high of over $126,000 in October.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Historically, when value stocks are having their moment in the sun, it usually means that the broader market is crashing and burning.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

Just 20 seconds in, a right uppercut from Prenga sent Joshua crashing to the canvas and stunned the arena.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

My good mood that day had come crashing down around my ears when Regan had cut me off on the path.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Related Words

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