# crush

Pronunciation: say "KRUSH" /kɹʌʃ/

## Verb

1. To press something hard so that it is squeezed out of shape or flattened, or to be squashed in this way.
   - Simple: To press something so hard that it gets flat or broken. Also to get squashed.
   - _The cardboard box crushed flat under the heavy load._
   - _Aluminum cans crush easily when you step on them._
2. To grind or pound a substance until it becomes a powder or tiny fragments.
   - Simple: To break something into tiny pieces by pounding or grinding it.
   - _Workers crush the ore into a fine powder before smelting._
   - _The old mill crushed the grain into flour._
4. To overcome an opponent or force completely, leaving no resistance.
   - Simple: To beat someone or something so completely that they cannot fight back.
   - _Government forces crushed the uprising within a week._
   - _A determined coalition can crush even an entrenched regime._
5. To overwhelm or oppress someone, as if under a heavy weight, emotionally or with burdens.
   - Simple: To make someone feel very sad or weighed down, or to treat them very harshly.
   - _The weight of expectation can crush even talented performers._
   - _He was crushed by the news of the layoffs._
7. To feel infatuation or unrequited love for someone.
   - Simple: To feel a strong romantic liking for someone who may not feel the same.
   - _By tenth grade she had crushed on two classmates without ever telling them._
   - _Teenagers often crush from afar, too nervous to speak up._
8. To perform impressively well at something, such as a game, performance, or interview. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To do something extremely well, such as a game, a show, or a test.
   - _He absolutely crushed the job interview and got the offer._
   - _He was nervous before the audition, but his coach knew he would crush it._

## Noun

3. A romantic infatuation with someone you are not dating. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A strong but often secret liking for someone you are not dating.
   - _He developed a crush on his coworker over the summer._
   - _Her teenage crush faded once she actually got to know him._
6. The person who is the object of someone's romantic infatuation. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: The person you have a crush on.
   - _He spent the whole dance hoping his crush would notice him._
   - _Years later, she ran into her high school crush at a reunion._
10. A drink based on juice pressed from fruit, such as berries or citrus.
   - Simple: A sweet drink made from the juice of squeezed fruit.
   - _On summer days the vendor sold cups of chilled fruit crush._
   - _She mixed a homemade berry crush for the party guests._
12. A standing stock or cage with movable sides, used to hold livestock still for safe handling. *(British, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand)*
   - Simple: A narrow cage with movable sides that holds a farm animal still for safe handling.
   - _The farmer backed the steer into the crush for its vaccination._
   - _A well-built crush keeps both the animal and the handler from injury._
13. The process of crushing sugar cane to extract the raw sugar, or the season during which that work takes place. *(Australia)*
   - Simple: The work of pressing sugar cane to get the raw sugar out, or the season when the pressing takes place.
   - _Heavy rain held up the cane harvest, so this year's crush started late._
   - _In the sugar towns of Queensland, the crush brings months of extra work for local families._
9. A dense crowd of people pressed tightly together, or the dangerous pressure such a crowd creates.
   - Simple: A big crowd of people pushed tightly together.
   - _Commuters were swept along by the crush on the platform._
   - _In the crush outside the theater, friends quickly lost sight of one another._

## Noun

11. A party or festive social gathering, especially a crowded and fashionable one. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A big, lively party with lots of guests.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A violent collision or compression that results in destruction or ruin.
- (noun) A group or gang of people.
- (noun) A barrier used to hold back and direct a crowd.
- (noun) A loss of detail in which certain colors become so similar that they are hard to tell apart, whether as a deliberate effect or a display's limitation.
- (verb) To render certain colors so similar that they become hard to tell apart, either deliberately or because a display cannot show them.
- (verb) To give something a compressed or foreshortened appearance on screen.
- (noun) A paraphilia in which a person is aroused by watching things be destroyed by crushing.

## Origin

From Middle English cruschen ("to crush, squeeze"), from Old French croissir, from Late Latin *crusciō, from Frankish *krustijan ("to crush, squeeze"), from Proto-Germanic *kreustaną ("to crush, grind, smash"). It is related to Swedish krysta ("to squeeze") and Icelandic kreista ("to squeeze").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/crush (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).