crush

American  

[kruhsh] / krʌʃ /

verb (used with object)

• crushes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• crushed,
  past participle,  past
• crushing
  present participle

1. to press or squeeze with a force that destroys or deforms.

   Synonyms:

   rumple, crumple

2. to squeeze or pound into small fragments or particles, as ore, stone, etc.

   Synonyms:

   crumble, mash, powder, pulverize

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.

   Synonyms:

   quash, overcome, quell

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.).

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verb (used without object)

• crushes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• crushed,
  past participle,  past
• crushing
  present participle

1. to become crushed.

2. to advance with crushing; press or crowd forcibly.

noun

• crushes
  plural

1. the act of crushing; state of being crushed.

2. a great crowd.

   a crush of shoppers.

3. Informal.

   1. an intense but usually short-lived infatuation with someone.

   2. the object of such an infatuation.

      Who's your latest crush?

verb phrase

1. crush on to have an infatuation with; have a crush on.

   She’s been crushing on him for a year.

idioms

1. crush it, to do something very well and with enthusiasm.

crush ¹ British  

/ krʌʃ /

verb

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. (intr) to crowd; throng

9. (intr) to become injured, broken, or distorted by pressure

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noun

1. a dense crowd, esp at a social occasion

2. the act of crushing; pressure

3. a drink or pulp prepared by or as if by crushing fruit

   orange crush

4. informal

   1. an infatuation

      she had a crush on him

   2. the person with whom one is infatuated

crush ² British  

/ 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

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crush More Idioms  

1. see have a crush on.

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Synonym Usage

See break.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• crushability
  noun
• crusher
  noun
• crushable
  adjective
• uncrushable
  adjective
• uncrushed
  adjective
• well-crushed
  adjective
• crushably
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• crushes
  plural

Participles

• crushing
  present
• crushed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• crush
  simple
• crushes
  simple
• have crushed
  perfect
• has crushed
  perfect
• am crushing
  progressive
• are crushing
  progressive
• is crushing
  progressive
• have been crushing
  perfect progressive
• has been crushing
  perfect progressive

Past

• crushed
  simple
• had crushed
  perfect
• was crushing
  progressive
• were crushing
  progressive
• had been crushing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will crush
  simple
• will have crushed
  perfect
• will be crushing
  progressive
• will have been crushing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of crush

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English cruschen, crusshen, from Middle French croi(s)sir, cruisir “to gnash one's teeth, make a crashing or cracking sound, crackle, rustle, smash,” Medieval Latin cruscīre “to crackle,” from Germanic; compare Gothic kriustan “to crunch, grind,” Old Swedish krusa, krosa “to crush,” krȳsta “to gnash (one's teeth),” Middle Low German krossen “to crush”

Explanation

When you crush something, you break it into tiny pieces or crumple it. If you crush the cans in your recycling bin, you'll make more room for more. A train can crush a car that's stalled on the tracks, and a person can crush an insect between her fingers. A figurative meaning of crush is to subdue or stop, like when a military dictator's forces crush a rebel uprising. You can also use crush as a noun to mean "an overwhelming number," like a crush of bodies on a packed subway car, or to describe infatuation, like your crush on your attractive neighbor, who also can be called your crush.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

crush crushes crushed crushing

“The fact that the entire car didn’t just concertina and crush us is down to the design of that car, which is frankly astonishing.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

One widely discussed explanation is that the intense pressure at greater depths would crush the air spaces used by insects for breathing.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026

There are worse things than needing to escape a world trying to crush you.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026

Analysts figured the company’s pill would similarly crush it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

I curled my fingers into tight fists, trying to crush that feeling out of me.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

If the Jacobian determinant is always a constant number that is not zero, then the function never folds or crushes space around a particular point.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026

“LLY crushes expectations,” wrote RBC Capital Markets analyst Trung Huynh, describing the company’s second-quarter performance to investors.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

The practice allows them to build a presence in the ring that crushes their opponents harder than a suplex.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026

"It's not only humiliating and devastating and shattering – it also just crushes your soul," Jane said.

From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2026

But even if I tried, they’d sniff it off me, because it’s so tight in our bedroom that there isn’t enough space for hidden crushes, unspoken names of boyfriends, and secret dates.

From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi

A January integration deal between Damascus and the Kurdish administration crushed Kurdish aspirations for self-rule and still raises concerns for many from the minority group.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

The Supreme Court case arose from one such tragedy: a five-year-old boy crushed by a truck while walking to school with his father.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

The back windshield and trunk are also crushed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

When crushed, the material closely resembles lunar dust.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026

By the spring of 1944, with the Nazis’ South American spy networks all but crushed, Elizebeth was eager for a new challenge.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

After tax, it would have returned 8% annually, crushing the endowment portfolio.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

And since Tuesday, Spain has been caught in another crushing heatwave, with temperatures in Guadalajara province forecast to rise as high as 39 Celsius on Wednesday.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

Major cities throughout the States have seen crushing drops in Canadian tourism and business it affords to costly enterprises like ski resorts.

From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026

Apple’s stock has been crushing the market to a degree not seen in six years, and it just won over a new fan.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026

There’s so much anxiety in this car that it feels like the backseat is shrinking, crushing us into a small cube of vinyl and sweat and fear.

From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed

Related Words

• annihilate
• beat
• defeat
• demolish
• kill
• overcome
• overpower
• overwhelm
• quell
• ruin
• squelch
• stamp out
• strangle
• subdue
• suppress
• vanquish
• wreck