Meaning of crush in English

Table of contents

Verb
crush
Etymology
Middle English: from Old French cruissir, ‘gnash (teeth) or crack’, of unknown origin
Definitions
1. come down on or keep down by unjust use of one's authority
Examples
- « The government oppresses political activists »
Derived terms
2. to compress with violence, out of natural shape or condition
Examples
- « crush an aluminum can »
- « squeeze a lemon »
Derived terms
3. come out better in a competition, race, or conflict
Examples
- « Agassi beat Becker in the tennis championship »
- « We beat the competition »
- « Harvard defeated Yale in the last football game »
Derived terms
4. break into small pieces
Examples
- « The car crushed the toy »
Derived terms
5. humiliate or depress completely
Examples
- « She was crushed by his refusal of her invitation »
- « The death of her son smashed her »
Derived terms
- demolition
6. crush or bruise
Examples
- « jam a toe »
7. make ineffective
Examples
- « Martin Luther King tried to break down racial discrimination »
Derived terms
- breakdown
- dislocation
8. become injured, broken, or distorted by pressure
Examples
- « The plastic bottle crushed against the wall »
Noun
crush
Definitions
1. leather that has had its grain pattern accentuated
2. a dense crowd of people
Derived terms
- chock up
- cram
- jam
- jampack
- press
- ram
- wad
3. temporary love of an adolescent
Derived terms
- infatuate
4. the act of crushing
Derived terms

Famous quotes

« All I can tell you really is if you get to the point where someone is telling you that you are not great or not good enough, just follow your heart and don't let anybody crush your dream. »
Patti LaBelle
« The only thing growing faster than the federal government's deficit is Chris Matthews' man-crush on Barack Obama. »
Tim Pawlenty
« Police in China can do whatever they want after 81 days in arbitrary detention you clearly realise that they don't have to obey their own laws. In a society like this there is no negotiation, no discussion, except to tell you that power can crush you any time they want - not only you, your whole family and all people like you. »
Ai Weiwei
« I really, really, really want to do a silly romantic comedy where I can just have a crush on the guy, trip over myself, and laugh and be goofy. I just feel like all I do is cry, sob, and fight zombies and the bad guys. »
Laurie Holden
« Yeah, well I think anyone who likes fast cars will love the Tesla. And it has fantastic handling by the way. I mean this car will crush a Porsche on the track, just crush it. So if you like fast cars, you'll love this car. And then oh, by the way, it happens to be electric and it's twice the efficiency of a Prius. »
Elon Musk