crush

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verb

ˈkrəsh

crushed; crushing; crushes

Synonyms of crush next

transitive verb

: to squeeze or force by pressure so as to alter or destroy structure

crush grapes

: to squeeze together into a mass

She crushed her clothes into a bag.

: to reduce to particles by pounding or grinding

crush rock

: to subdue completely

The rebellion was crushed.

: to cause overwhelming emotional pain to (someone)

Her insults crushed him.

: to oppress or burden grievously

crushed by debt

: to suppress or overwhelm as if by pressure or weight

: crowd, push

were crushed into the elevator

: hug, embrace

She crushed her child to her breast.

archaic : drink

intransitive verb

: to advance with or as if with crushing

The crowd crushed ruthlessly toward the exit.

: to become crushed

The stewed tomatoes crush easily.

obsolete : crash

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

ˈkrə-shə-bəl

adjective

crusher noun

crushingly adverb

crush

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noun

: an intense and usually passing infatuation

have a crush on someone

also : the object of infatuation

: crowd, mob

especially : a crowd of people pressing against one another

: a crowding together (as of people)

: an act of crushing

: the quantity of material crushed

crushproof

ˈkrəsh-ˌprüf

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

Example Sentences

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. See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Introducing a vaccine could trigger trade bans that would crush the enormous US export market, turn sectors of the poultry trade against each other, and possibly provoke consumer uneasiness about food safety. —

Maryn Mckenna, WIRED, 8 Mar. 2023 That means not letting the milk crush the bread or putting bruisable fruit at the bottom of the bag. —

Lindsay Lee Wallace, SELF, 24 Feb. 2023 Not the producers letting the women get all dolled up and excited to have a night with the Bachelor only to have a stranger crush their dreams! —

Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 21 Feb. 2023 The porcine one is Pooh’s enforcer and hog-ties one of the vacationing women so Pooh can crush her head with a car (the old bear has given up the ways of man but still drives) and kills another by smacking his trusty sledgehammer into her face. —

Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 17 Feb. 2023 This Christmas spin on the classic Cinderella story features a determined young woman who won't let her wicked stepmother and stepsisters crush her dreams to become a singer. —

Kristen Adaway, Woman's Day, 29 Nov. 2022 Holding us to web2 milestones is only going to crush the growth that brands like ours can have. —

Amy Shoenthal, Forbes, 11 July 2022 Quantumania's numbers crush the debut of the first installment, 2015's Ant-Man ($57 million), and its sequel, 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp ($75 million). —

Jessica Wang, EW.com, 19 Feb. 2023 The complexities of a strange new power dynamic could easily crush the strongest relationship, which is why open communication is so important. —

Hazlitt, 1 Feb. 2023

Noun

Take suggestive selfies and send them to your crush. —

Women's Health, 7 Feb. 2023 Want to send a witty card or ask out your crush with a clever quip? —

Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2023 Spending quality time with your crush or partner on Valentine's Day can be the perfect way to learn more about each other. —

Mariah Thomas, Good Housekeeping, 23 Jan. 2023 Or showing up to your crush's house blasting music outside of their window? —

Chaise Sanders, Country Living, 20 Jan. 2023 Your orange crush lost an election and threw a tantrum and suckered all you groupies into doing something really stupid and short-sighted. —

Philip Martin, Arkansas Online, 17 Jan. 2023 Ask out your crush, plan a fun date with your S.O., or play the lottery. —

Lisa Stardust, refinery29.com, 27 Dec. 2022 Maybe your office crush will take notice and ask you out on a date. —

Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 26 Dec. 2022 Here are the best cheap Valentine’s Day date ideas that your crush will totally have heart-eyes over. —

Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, 22 Dec. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'crush.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.