crush

1 of 2

verb

crushed; crushing; crushes

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
She crushed her clothes into a bag.
2
: to reduce to particles by pounding or grinding
crush rock
3
a
: to subdue completely
The rebellion was crushed.
b
: to cause overwhelming emotional pain to (someone)
Her insults crushed him.
c
: to oppress or burden grievously
crushed by debt
d
: to suppress or overwhelm as if by pressure or weight
4
: crowd, push
were crushed into the elevator
5
: hug, embrace
She crushed her child to her breast.
6
archaic : drink

intransitive verb

1
: to advance with or as if with crushing
The crowd crushed ruthlessly toward the exit.
2
: to become crushed
The stewed tomatoes crush easily.
3
obsolete : crash
4
informal : to experience an intense and usually passing infatuation : to have a crush on someone
usually used with on
She's been crushing on him all summer.
Turns out Fat Monica was motivated to lose all the weight after she overhead Chandler (whom she was crushing on) tell Ross: "I don't want to be stuck here all night with your fat sister."Entertainment Weekly
crushable adjective
crusher noun
crushingly adverb

crush

2 of 2

noun

1
: an intense and usually passing infatuation
have a crush on someone
also : the object of infatuation
2
a
: crowd, mob
especially : a crowd of people pressing against one another
b
: a crowding together (as of people)
3
: an act of crushing
4
: the quantity of material crushed
crushproof adjective
Choose the Right Synonym for crush

crowd, throng, horde, crush, mob mean an assembled multitude.

crowd implies a close gathering and pressing together.

a crowd gathered

throng and horde suggest movement and pushing.

a throng of reporters
a horde of shoppers

crush emphasizes the compactness of the group, the difficulty of individual movement, and the attendant discomfort.

a crush of fans

mob implies a disorderly crowd with the potential for violence.

an angry mob

Examples of crush in a Sentence

Verb Unfortunately some of the flowers got crushed when we were moving them. The bicycle was crushed under the truck's tires. The machine crushes the cans so that they can be stored until they are recycled. Her arm was crushed in the accident. Crush the nuts and sprinkle them on top of the cake. The rocks were crushed into dust. Noun Yesterday I saw my old high school crush for the first time in five years. The crush in the train station is at its worst during the afternoon rush hour. Outside the hotel stood a crush of reporters waiting for her arrival.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Sometimes the aspects of James’ story are crushing, while the songs let the sentiments soar. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2024 Undoing the effects of censorship, propaganda, and disinformation—and the crushing politics of fear—takes time. Brian Klaas, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2024 The government crushed a nationwide uprising in 2022 that was led by women and girls who demanded an end to clerical rule. Farnaz Fassihi, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024 Netanyahu has faced fierce criticism within Israel for his government’s failure to predict or forestall the October 7 Hamas attack, and public polling suggests many Israelis question whether his crushing military offensive in response is the best way to recover hostages. Alexandra Banner, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024 The season ended with a crushing loss to Etiwanda in the Open Division state final. Darren Sabedra, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 What happens in the crushing vacuum of such an absence? Catherine Newman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Mar. 2024 The movie sneaks up on you with its crushing meditations on unrealized dreams and not being defined by your past. Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 8 Mar. 2024 The TikTok of today is more like a cable-TV giant or a streaming service crushed into an endlessly scrolling feed. Caroline Mimbs Nyce, The Atlantic, 1 Mar. 2024
Noun
Stay your way at The Boca Raton Your current staycation crush is The Boca Raton, a sprawling resort and private club that’s been grandly transformed and offers five distinct hotels that span from the Intracoastal to the beach — and cater to every type of traveler. Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2024 Did my father have a crush on Madhubala, a popular Bollywood actress of the 1950s? Hazlitt, 28 Feb. 2024 And both segments descend quickly to the Agua Fria River in about 2 miles. Highs, lows of Innings Festival 2024: Matt and Kim are joyfully NSFW; 311 crushes the hits This Phoenix museum just got voted one of the best in the US. Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 24 Feb. 2024 Hughes seamlessly steers us through the ups and downs of teenage years, tackling everything from the sting of feeling invisible on your birthday to the pangs of one-sided crushes. Travis Bean, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024 Seoul, South Korea CNN — Three former police officers were sentenced in a Seoul court on Wednesday for destroying evidence related to the deadly Halloween crowd crush in the city’s Itaewon neighborhood in 2022. Yoonjung Seo, CNN, 15 Feb. 2024 Bereaved relatives of the victims of a deadly 2022 crowd crush in South Korea expressed mixed emotions this week after three former police officers were convicted of destroying evidence connected to the episode, in which nearly 160 people died in Seoul. Jin Yu Young, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2024 Last month, Kim Kwang-ho, the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, was indicted on a charge of contributing to the crush through negligence. Jin Yu Young, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2024 Most of those killed in the October 29 crush were young adults and teenagers, who were among tens of thousands of partygoers who poured into Seoul’s Itaewon district to celebrate Halloween. Yoonjung Seo, CNN, 15 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crush.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Middle English crusshen, from Anglo-French croissir, croistre, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Low German krossen to crush

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

1599, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of crush was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near crush

Cite this Entry

“Crush.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crush. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

crush

1 of 2 verb
1
: to squeeze together so as to break or destroy the natural shape or condition
crush grapes
2
3
: to break into fine pieces by pressing, pounding, or grinding
crush stone
4
a
: overwhelm sense 2
crushed the enemy
crusher noun

crush

2 of 2 noun
1
: an act of crushing
2
: a crowding together of many people
3
: a strong but often temporary liking : infatuation
have a crush on someone

More from Merriam-Webster on crush

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