crush
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A violent collision or compression.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kruhshIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkɹʌʃ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A violent collision or compression; a crash; destruction; ruin.
Violent pressure, as of a moving crowd.
A crowd that produces uncomfortable pressure.
A crowd control barrier.
Australia
The process of crushing cane to remove the raw sugar, or the season when this process takes place.
informal
An infatuation with somebody one is not dating.
verb
To press between two hard objects; to squeeze so as to alter the natural shape or integrity, or to force together into a mass.
figurative
To overwhelm by pressure or weight.
Humiliate or depress completely
“She was crushed by his refusal of her invitation.”
To overcome completely; to subdue totally.
Become injured, broken, or distorted by pressure
“The plastic bottle crushed against the wall.”
intransitive
To be or become broken down or in, or pressed into a smaller volume or area, by external weight or force.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A violent collision or compression; a crash; destruction; ruin.
Used this way, crush is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It carries more force than its gentler alternatives. It turns up most in personal or emotional discussion and literature or storytelling contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Strong
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Everyday but emotionally strong
Where it naturally appears
- Personal/emotional discussion
- Literature/storytelling
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Press / becomeverb
“The plastic bottle crushed against the wall.”
Humiliateverb
“She was crushed by his refusal of her invitation.”
More ways to use crush
- “She was crushed by his refusal of her invitation.”verb
- “The plastic bottle crushed against the wall.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Forceful prevention.
A device that crushes something.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Rock fragments and pebbles.
Extinguish by crushing.
Leather that has had its grain pattern accentuated.
Drink produced by squeezing or crushing fruit.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.