crush
(krŭsh)
[Middle English crushen, from Old French croissir, of Germanic origin.]
verb: crushed, crush·ing, crush·es.
transitive verb
- To press between opposing bodies so as to break or injure.
- To break, pound, or grind (stone or ore, for example) into small fragments or powder.
- To put down; subdue: crushed the rebellion.
- To overwhelm or oppress severely: spirits that had been crushed by rejection and failure.
- To crumple or rumple: crushed the freshly ironed shirt.
- To hug, especially with great force.
- To press upon, shove, or crowd.
- To extract or obtain by pressing or squeezing: crush juice from a grape.
- Archaic To drink; quaff.
intransitive verb
- To be or become crushed.
- To proceed or move by crowding or pressing.
noun
- The act of crushing; extreme pressure.
- The state of being crushed.
- A great crowd: a crush of spectators.
- A substance prepared by or as if by crushing, especially a fruit drink: orange crush.
- Informal
- A usually temporary infatuation.
- One who is the object of such an infatuation.
- A decisive or critical moment or situation.
- The process of stamping or crushing grapes for wine.
derivatives
- crush́a·ble
- adjective
- crush́er
- noun
- crush́proof́
- adjective
synonyms:
crush, mash, pulp, 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; pulped raspberries through a sieve; smashed the bamboo stems with a hammer; squashed the wine grapes.- See also: crowd1
