SQUASH

I. verb see: cache Date: 1565 transitive verb to press or beat into a pulp or a flat mass ; crush , put down , suppress , intransitive verb to flatten out under pressure or impact, to proceed with a splashing or squelching sound , squeeze , press , ~er noun II. noun Date: 1590 something soft and easily crushed, the sudden fall of a heavy soft body or the sound of such a fall, squelch 1, a crushed mass, sweetened citrus fruit juice often served with added soda water, a singles or doubles game played in a 4-wall court with a long-handled racket and a rubber ball that can be hit off any number of walls, III. adverb Date: 1766 with a ~ or a ~ing sound, IV. noun (plural ~es or ~) Etymology: by shortening & alteration from earlier isquouter~, from Narragansett askúta~ Date: 1634 any of various fruits of plants (genus Cucurbita ) of the gourd family widely cultivated as vegetables