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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. Phrasal Verb: 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. 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. |
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