crush.
A violent collision or compression; a crash; destruction; ruin.
Meaning & usage
A violent collision or compression; a crash; destruction; ruin.
Violent pressure, as of a moving crowd.
A violent crowding.
A crowd that produces uncomfortable pressure.
a crush at a reception
A group or gang.
A crowd control barrier.
A drink made by squeezing the juice out of fruit.
An infatuation with somebody one is not dating.
I've had a huge crush on her since we met many years ago.
An infatuation with somebody one is not dating. The human object of such infatuation or affection.
He took his crush out for dinner.
A standing stock or cage with movable sides used to restrain livestock for safe handling.
A party or festive function.
The process of crushing cane to remove the raw sugar, or the season when this process takes place.
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.
black crush; white crush
A paraphilia involving arousal from seeing things destroyed by crushing.
Where this word comes from
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”).
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
To reduce to fine particles by pounding or grinding.
to crush quartz
To overwhelm by pressure or weight.
After the corruption scandal, the opposition crushed the ruling party in the elections
To do impressively well at (sports events; performances; interviews; etc.).
They had a gig recently at Madison Square—totally crushed it!
To oppress or grievously burden.
To overcome completely; to subdue totally.
The sultan's black guard crushed every resistance bloodily.
To be or become broken down or in, or pressed into a smaller volume or area, by external weight or force.
an eggshell crushes easily
To feel infatuation or unrequited love.
She's crushing on him.
To give a compressed or foreshortened appearance to.
To make certain colors so similar as to be hard to distinguish, either as a deliberate effect or as a limitation of a display.
My old TV set crushes the blacks when the brightness is lowered.
Where this word comes from
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”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.