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crush (krŭsh)
Share:
v. crushed, crush·ing, crush·es
v.tr.
1.
a. To press between opposing bodies so as to break, compress, or injure: The falling rock crushed the car.
b. To break, pound, or grind (stone or ore, for example) into small fragments or powder.
2.
a. To put down with force; subdue: The regime crushed the rebellion.
b. To overwhelm or oppress severely: spirits that had been crushed by rejection and failure.
c. To defeat overwhelmingly: Our team was crushed in the playoffs.
3. To crumple or rumple: crushed the freshly ironed shirt.
4. To hug, especially with great force.
5. To hit or propel with great force: a swing of the bat that crushed a fastball over the wall.
6. To press upon, shove, or crowd.
7. To extract or obtain by pressing or squeezing: crush juice from a grape.
v.intr.
1. To be or become crushed: Aluminum cans crush easily.
2. To proceed or move by crowding or pressing: The fans crushed forward to get a glimpse of the movie star.
n.
1. The act of crushing or the pressure involved in crushing: matter superheated by the crush of gravity around black holes.
2. A great crowd: a crush of spectators.
3. A substance prepared by or as if by crushing, especially a fruit drink: orange crush.
4. Informal
a. A usually temporary infatuation: had a crush on her friend's cousin.
b. One who is the object of such an infatuation.
Phrasal Verb:
crush on Slang
To be infatuated with (someone).

[Middle English crushen, from Old French croissir, of Germanic origin.]

crusha·ble adj.
crusher n.
crushproof (-prf) adj.

Synonyms: crush, mash, smash, squash2
These verbs mean to press forcefully so as to reduce to a pulpy mass: crushed the rose geranium leaves; mashed the sweet potatoes; smashed the bamboo stems with a hammer; squashed the wine grapes. See Also Synonyms at crowd1.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.