crush
verbEtymology
From Middle English cruschen (“to crush, smash, squeeze, squash”), from Old French croissir (“to crush”), from Late Latin *crusciō (“to crush”), from Frankish *krustijan (“to crush, squeeze, squash”), from Proto-Germanic *kreustaną (“to crush, grind, strike, smash”). Cognate with Middle Low German tôkrosten (“to crush, shatter”), Swedish krysta (“to squeeze”), Danish kryste (“to squash”), Icelandic kreista (“to squeeze, squash”), Faroese kroysta (“to squeeze”), Gothic 𐌺𐍂𐌹𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽 (kriustan, “to gnash”). Akin also to Middle Dutch crosen (“to bruise, crush”), Middle Low German krossen, krö̂sen, tôkrö̂sen (“to break, shatter”), Old Swedish krusa (“to crush”).
10 senses
- 1To press between two hard objects; to squeeze so as to…
- 2To reduce to fine particles by pounding or grinding.
- 3To overwhelm by pressure or weight.
- 4To do impressively well at (sports events; performances…
- 5To oppress or grievously burden.
- 6To overcome completely; to subdue totally.
- 7To be or become broken down or in, or pressed into a…
- 8To feel infatuation or unrequited love.
- 9To give a compressed or foreshortened appearance to.
- 10To make certain colors so similar as to be hard to…
To press between two hard objects; to squeeze so as to alter the natural shape or integrity, or to force together into a mass.
- to crush grapes
- Ye shall not offer unto the Lord that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut1769, Benjamin Blayney, King James Bible, Leviticus 22:24:
To reduce to fine particles by pounding or grinding.
- to crush quartz
- With a wild scream he was upon her, tearing a great piece from her side with his mighty teeth, and striking her viciously upon her head and shoulders with a broken tree limb until her skull was crushed to a jelly.1912 October, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Tarzan of the Apes”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as chapter 1, in Tarzan of the Apes, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, June 1914, →OCLC:
Figuratively To overwhelm by pressure or weight.
- After the corruption scandal, the opposition crushed the ruling party in the elections
- We believe the invasion has reached its peak. The task remaining is to crush it. Our men are confident, the United Nations command is confident, that it will be crushed.1950 September 1, Harry S. Truman, 2:02 from the start, in MP72-73 Korea and World Peace: President Truman Reports to the People, Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives Identifier: 595162:
1 more example
- A stunning performance from the Republic of Ireland all but sealed progress to Euro 2012 as they crushed nine-man Estonia 4-0 in the first leg of the qualifying play-off tie in A Le Coq Arena in Tallinn.2011 November 11, Rory Houston, “Estonia 0-4 Republic of Ireland”, in RTE Sport:
Colloquial, Figuratively To do impressively well at (sports events; performances; interviews; etc.).
- They had a gig recently at Madison Square—totally crushed it!
To oppress or grievously burden.
To overcome completely; to subdue totally.
- The sultan's black guard crushed every resistance bloodily.
- the prospect of the Duke's speedily overtaking and crushing the rebels1814, Sir Walter Scott, Waverley:
To be or become broken down or in, or pressed into a smaller volume or area, by external weight or force.
- an eggshell crushes easily
To feel infatuation or unrequited love.
- She's crushing on him.
- Then walked in / The girl I'm crushin' / And the kid spilled juice / On my Mom's new cushion2000, “Aaron’s Party (Come Get It)”, performed by Aaron Carter:
3 more examples
- ... I could just let loose and be myself no holding back you know we just where to young kids in love, lust, crushing whatever you wanted to call it but we where living it up having fun when we where together the rest of the world didn't exist ...2011, May'lon Miranda, Love Is Blind, →ISBN, page 58:
- And the one subject that I get an A plus in every time, is the ancient art of crushing. I crush, therefore I am. I've decided to share the benefit of my wisdom and after months of hopelessly lusting after Dylan, I've REALISED that there are twelve degrees of crushing from the slightly embarrassing things most girls will do to catch the eye of the heir to their heart, to the verging on ridiculous stunts you pull when you're in the grip of a passion that renders you powerless.2013, Sarra Manning, Diary of a Crush: Kiss and Make Up, →ISBN:
- "I respect your wiring," he explained, "but I'm crushing on you. And when I crush, I crush hard." He thought it would be better if we stopped seeing each other for a while.2013, Shozan Jack Haubner, Zen Confidential: Confessions of a Wayward Monk, →ISBN, page 130:
Broadcasting, Film, Media, Television To give a compressed or foreshortened appearance to.
- He frames his subject in distant close-ups (we feel the distance, due mostly to the crushed perspective brought about by the telephoto lens).2003, Michel Chion, The Films of Jacques Tati, page 78:
- They realise that trajectories, space expansion and crushing are different with different lenses, whether wide angle or telephoto, and that actors' eyelines will be altered.2010, Birgit Bräuchler, John Postill, Theorising Media and Practice, page 319:
Broadcasting, Media, Television To make certain colors so similar as to be hard to distinguish, either as a deliberate effect or as a limitation of a display.
- My old TV set crushes the blacks when the brightness is lowered.
- Derived terms
- becrush, bone-crushing dog, croggle, crushability, crushable, crush a cup, crushed sugar, crushed velvet, crusher, crushing, crush it, crush on, crush out, recrush, soul-crushing, toe-crushing, uncrush