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

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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

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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

After the crash, according to a police report viewed by the Journal, he told first responders that “he had set the vehicle’s automation to allow him to sleep.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

The Adamuz crash triggered a nationwide debate about whether the network was fit for purpose.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

An investigation is under way to establish the cause of the crash, with questions raised over rail infrastructure maintenance and passenger safety.

From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026

“The Daily Show” writer Kevin Bleyer died in a car crash on Sunday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

He died in a helicopter crash in 1977, at the age of forty-seven.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

The prime minister said it was "unacceptable" for Spain to have two serious train crashes in one year, and vowed to "get to the bottom of this" and determine if there was any negligence.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

Wall Street manias and crashes, sadly, are about as variable as a Scooby-Doo episode.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026

E-bike and scooter crashes regularly kill riders and pedestrians without lawmakers imposing similar bans, it said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

US regulators have heavily scrutinized Boeing's designs during certifications following a pair of MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that together claimed 346 lives.

From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026

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

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

‘When the railroad stocks crashed, nobody went and ripped up the rails and said, “Let’s go back to horses and carriages.”’

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026

One could imagine the terror of the sailors – possibly coastal people from the Levant region – as their ship crashed against the rocks.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026

The car had crashed through the entrance of the shop, smashing the glass, and remained just inside the doors on Friday night as emergency services remained at the scene.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

She was there when the stock crashed, and she was briefly named an interim co-CEO when Wainwright left in 2022.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

Citigroup and Merrill Lynch and others sat on huge piles of the things when the market crashed, but these were the by-product of their CDO machines.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

England made a promising start, Maddie Feaunati crashing over from close range inside 10 minutes, but Canada hit back twice in quick succession through Julia Omokhuale and De Goede to lead 12-7 at the break.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

Police found no brake marks that would have indicated she had tried to stop before crashing, according to the records.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

But it all came crashing down in November 2020, when Hillsong Church announced that Lentz had been fired for leadership issues and “moral failures.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

SAN FRANCISCO—Judi Gorski’s home overlooks one of this city’s newest and most spectacular attractions: a two-mile, car-free stretch of coastal highway where visitors bike, skateboard and stroll against a backdrop of crashing waves.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

The swell crashing on the windward side of the great blue tabular icebergs threw spray sixty feet into the air and down onto the boats, where it froze on the men.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

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Related Words

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

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