Refine this word faster
Crush
Definitions
- 1 A violent collision or compression; a crash; destruction; ruin. countable, uncountable
"The more highly the injured part is endowed with sensory nerves the more marked is the shock; a crush of the hand, for example, is attended with a more intense degree of shock than a correspondingly severe crush of the foot"
- 2 the act of crushing wordnet
- 3 Violent pressure, as of a moving crowd. countable, uncountable
- 4 temporary love of an adolescent wordnet
- 5 A violent crowding. countable, uncountable
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 a dense crowd of people wordnet
- 7 A crowd that produces uncomfortable pressure. countable, uncountable
"a crush at a reception"
- 8 leather that has had its grain pattern accentuated wordnet
- 9 A group or gang. countable, slang, uncountable
"Then there was another set who called themselves the "Ragged Thirteen"; and the account says "they looked it." And, like most diggers, this "crush," to quote my authority, could handle the cards a bit."
- 10 A crowd control barrier. countable, uncountable
- 11 A drink made by squeezing the juice out of fruit. countable, uncountable
""Look," said Crabbe, warm orange crush in his hand."
- 12 An infatuation with somebody one is not dating. countable, informal, uncountable
"I've had a huge crush on her since we met many years ago."
- 13 An infatuation with somebody one is not dating.; The human object of such infatuation or affection. broadly, countable, informal, uncountable
"He took his crush out for dinner."
- 14 A standing stock or cage with movable sides used to restrain livestock for safe handling. countable, uncountable
- 15 A party or festive function. countable, dated, uncountable
"Two months ago I went to a crush at Lady Brandon's."
- 16 The process of crushing cane to remove the raw sugar, or the season when this process takes place. Australia, countable, uncountable
- 17 The situation where certain colors are so similar as to be hard to distinguish, either as a deliberate effect or as a limitation of a display. uncountable
"black crush; white crush"
- 18 A paraphilia involving arousal from seeing things destroyed by crushing. uncountable
"Just as they say that marijuana leads to harder drugs, Gallegly is claiming that crush is a "gateway fetish"—a term I've never heard before. He claims that if someone starts with bugs they'll end up escalating to human babies in no time."
- 1 To press between two hard objects; to squeeze so as to alter the natural shape or integrity, or to force together into a mass.
"to crush grapes"
- 2 break into small pieces wordnet
- 3 To reduce to fine particles by pounding or grinding.
"to crush quartz"
- 4 become injured, broken, or distorted by pressure wordnet
- 5 To overwhelm by pressure or weight. figuratively
"After the corruption scandal, the opposition crushed the ruling party in the elections"
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 come out better in a competition, race, or conflict wordnet
- 7 To do impressively well at (sports events; performances; interviews; etc.). colloquial, figuratively
"They had a gig recently at Madison Square—totally crushed it!"
- 8 make ineffective wordnet
- 9 To oppress or grievously burden.
- 10 crush or bruise wordnet
- 11 To overcome completely; to subdue totally.
"The sultan's black guard crushed every resistance bloodily."
- 12 to compress with violence, out of natural shape or condition wordnet
- 13 To be or become broken down or in, or pressed into a smaller volume or area, by external weight or force. intransitive
"an eggshell crushes easily"
- 14 humiliate or depress completely wordnet
- 15 To feel infatuation or unrequited love. intransitive, transitive
"She's crushing on him."
- 16 come down on or keep down by unjust use of one's authority wordnet
- 17 To give a compressed or foreshortened appearance to.
"He frames his subject in distant close-ups (we feel the distance, due mostly to the crushed perspective brought about by the telephoto lens)."
- 18 To make certain colors so similar as to be hard to distinguish, either as a deliberate effect or as a limitation of a display. transitive
"My old TV set crushes the blacks when the brightness is lowered."
Etymology
From Middle English cruschen (“to crush, smash, squeeze, squash”), from Old French croissir (“to crush”), from Late Latin *crusciō (“to crush”), from Frankish *krustijan (“to crush, squeeze, squash”), from Proto-Germanic *kreustaną (“to crush, grind, strike, smash”). Cognate with Middle Low German tôkrosten (“to crush, shatter”), Swedish krysta (“to squeeze”), Danish kryste (“to squash”), Icelandic kreista (“to squeeze, squash”), Faroese kroysta (“to squeeze”), Gothic 𐌺𐍂𐌹𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽 (kriustan, “to gnash”). Akin also to Middle Dutch crosen (“to bruise, crush”), Middle Low German krossen, krö̂sen, tôkrö̂sen (“to break, shatter”), Old Swedish krusa (“to crush”).
From Middle English cruschen (“to crush, smash, squeeze, squash”), from Old French croissir (“to crush”), from Late Latin *crusciō (“to crush”), from Frankish *krustijan (“to crush, squeeze, squash”), from Proto-Germanic *kreustaną (“to crush, grind, strike, smash”). Cognate with Middle Low German tôkrosten (“to crush, shatter”), Swedish krysta (“to squeeze”), Danish kryste (“to squash”), Icelandic kreista (“to squeeze, squash”), Faroese kroysta (“to squeeze”), Gothic 𐌺𐍂𐌹𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽 (kriustan, “to gnash”). Akin also to Middle Dutch crosen (“to bruise, crush”), Middle Low German krossen, krö̂sen, tôkrö̂sen (“to break, shatter”), Old Swedish krusa (“to crush”).
See also for "crush"
Next best steps
Mini challenge
Unscramble this word: crush