I. ˈkrəsh verb
Etymology: Middle English crusshen, from Anglo-French croissir, croistre, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Low German krossen to crush
Date: 15th century
transitive verb
1.
a. : to squeeze or force by pressure so as to alter or destroy structure
crush grapes
b. : to squeeze together into a mass
2. : hug , embrace
3. : to reduce to particles by pounding or grinding
crush rock
4.
a. : to suppress or overwhelm as if by pressure or weight
b. : to oppress or burden grievously
crush ed by debt
c. : to subdue completely
the rebellion was crush ed
5. : crowd , push
were crush ed into the elevator
6. archaic : drink
intransitive verb
1. obsolete : crash
2. : to become crushed
3. : to advance with or as if with crushing
• crush·able ˈkrə-shə-bəl adjective
• crush·er noun
• crush·ing·ly adverb
II. noun
Date: 1599
1. : an act of crushing
2. : the quantity of material crushed
3.
a. : a crowding together (as of people)
b. : crowd , mob ; especially : a crowd of people pressing against one another
4. : an intense and usually passing infatuation
have a crush on someone
also : the object of infatuation
Synonyms: see crowd
• crush·proof -ˌprüf adjective