1. v. & n.
--v.
1. tr. crush or squeeze flat or into pulp.
2 intr. (often foll. by into) make one's way by squeezing.
3 tr. pack tight, crowd.
4 tr. a silence (a person) with a crushing retort etc. b dismiss (a proposal etc.). c quash (a rebellion).
--n.
1. a crowd; a crowded assembly.
2 a sound of or as of something being squashed, or of a soft body falling.
3 Brit. a concentrated drink made of crushed fruit etc., diluted with water.
4 (in full squash rackets) a game played with rackets and a small fairly soft ball against the walls of a closed court.
5 a squashed thing or mass.
Phrases and idioms:
squash tennis US a game similar to squash, played with a lawn-tennis ball.
Derivatives:
squashy adj. (squashier, squashiest). squashily adv. squashiness n.
Etymology: alt. of QUASH 2. n. (pl. same or squashes)
1. any of various trailing plants of the genus Cucurbita, esp. C. maxima, C. moschata, and C. pepo, having pumpkin-like fruits.
2 the fruit of these cooked and eaten as a vegetable.
Etymology: obs. (i)squoutersquash f. Narraganset asquutasquash f. asq uncooked + squash green