I. ˈskwäsh, -wȯ(i)sh, substand -wȯ(ə)rsh verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Etymology: Middle French esquasser, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin exquassare, from Latin ex- ex- (I) + quassare to shake, break into pieces — more at quash
transitive verb
1. : to press or beat into a pulp or a flat mass : crush
billycock hat squashed low over his forehead — Robert Graves
squash a fly on the windowpane
2.
a. : to put down : suppress
squash a revolt
squash a strike
b. : disconcert , squelch
first overshadowed by … his father, then squashed by his contemptuous, ambitious wife — Time
intransitive verb
1. : to lose shape and flatten out under pressure or impact
guavas … fell squashing to the ground — Edwin Granberry
2. : to proceed with a splashing or squelching sound
squashing through the mud
3. : squeeze , press
four of us managed to squash into the back seat
4. of an airplane : to lose altitude in a horizontal position because of loss of airspeed : settle vertically
II. noun
( -es )
1. obsolete : something soft and easily crushed ; specifically : an unripe pod of peas
2. : a sudden fall of a heavy soft body or the sound of such a fall
3. : a squelching sound made by walking on oozy ground or in water-soaked boots
4.
a. : a crushed mass
the crash reduced the car to squash
the tomatoes have all gone to squash
b. : a bit of tissue crushed between slide and cover glass and stained in situ, used especially for cytological study of chromosomes
5. Britain : a drink of the sweetened juice of a citrus fruit usually wih added soda water : ade
orange squash
lemon squash
6.
a. archaic : a soft rubber ball used in the game of squash rackets
b. : squash racquets
7.
a. : a crush of people massed together
b. : a crowded social function
III. adverb
: with a squash or a squashing sound
you must fall squash into a bog — Thomas Gray
IV. noun
( plural squashes or squash )
Etymology: by shortening & alteration from earlier isquoutersquash, from Natick & Narragansett askútasquash, literally, green thing eaten green
1. : any of various fruits of plants of the genus Cucurbita that are widely cultivated as a vegetable and for livestock feed: as
a. : summer squash
b. : winter squash
c. : pumpkin 1a (2)
2. or squash vine : a plant that bears squashes
V. noun
( -es )
Etymology: short for musquash
archaic : muskrat