crush
crush
(krʌʃ )Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense crushes , present participle crushing , past tense, past participle crushed
1. verb
To crush something means to press it very hard so that its shape is destroyed or so that it breaks into pieces.
Andrew crushed his empty can. [VERB noun]
Their vehicle was crushed by an army tank. [VERB noun]
Peel and crush the garlic. [VERB noun]
...crushed ice. [VERB-ed]
squash, pound, break, smash, squeeze, crumble, crunch, mash, compress, press, crumple, pulverize, comminute2. verb
To crush a protest or movement, or a group of opponents, means to defeat it completely, usually by force.
The military operation was the first step in a plan to crush the uprising. [VERB noun]
...in his bid to crush the rebels. [VERB noun]
overcome, overwhelm, put down, subdue, overpower, quash, quell, extinguish, stamp out, vanquish [literary], conquercrushing uncountable noun
...the violent crushing of anti-government demonstrations. [+ of]
3. verb [usually passive]
Listen to criticism but don't be crushed by it. [be VERB-ed]
demoralize, depress, devastate, discourage, humble, put down [slang], humiliate, squash, flatten [informal], deflate, mortify, psych out [informal], dishearten, dispirit, deject, chagrin, browbeat4. verb [usually passive]
If you are crushed against someone or something, you are pushed or pressed against them.
We were at the front, crushed against the stage. [be VERB-ed preposition]
5. countable noun [usually singular]
6. countable noun
[informal]
She had a crush on you, you know. [+ on]
I'd got over my schoolgirl crush.
