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

The sound effects that Smart Play produces replace the crash noises and pew-pew sounds that ordinarily come out of my son’s mouth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

The charge stems from a July 3 crash in the 6700 block of Yount Street in Yountville.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026

Dozens of others, including school staff, were injured in the crash in Kapchorwa area on Thursday evening.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

It was not without a few glitches, however, including engine issues with the Super Heavy booster that necessitated a crash into the Gulf of Mexico rather than a precision return.

From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026

And here beyond the tree line, the waves crash and roar.

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day

By examining how koalas responded to earlier population crashes and recoveries, scientists may be able to develop better conservation strategies for protecting the species today.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026

Preliminary investigations show the bus suffered a mechanical fault before the driver lost control on Chekwatit Hill, a stretch of road that has been the site of several serious crashes, according to local officials.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

Between 2014 and 2023, 75 crashes on this stretch of Pico resulted in severe injury or death.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

There have been around 30 helicopter crashes in New York since 1980.

From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026

It’s then that Oscar’s last name crashes into my consciousness.

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson

The Napa County Sheriff’s Office alleged that Pelosi crashed his brown Maserati GranCabrio into an unoccupied parked vehicle and left the scene of the crash without providing information as required by law.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026

By the time a second round of tickets were made available last month, buyers swarmed with such frenzy that they crashed the AMC Theatres app.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

The wreckage of a New York sightseeing helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River, killing six people, showed signs of a bird strike, investigators said on Thursday.

From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026

The tragedy took place on 12 June 2025, when an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner en route to London crashed seconds after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport in western India.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

On October 29 of 1929, the stock market crashed.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

My apartment is only about six-odd blocks from the park, but closer to the game, I noticed a gigantic wave of red, lavender and white jerseys already crashing toward the watch party.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

It is known that the express train passed a red signal shortly before crashing into the stationary train, which had been travelling from Nottingham.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

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

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

While flying solo, Liu deviated from his designated airspace and dropped out of contact with the airport before crashing into Citic Tower.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

Cat would tell silly stories and Mom’s big, crashing laugh warmed the room.

From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn

Related Words

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