Strong pressure that breaks or compresses, with extensions for overwhelming defeat, emotional devastation, standout success, romantic attraction, tight crowds, and a fruit soda brand.
To make someone feel deeply disappointed, shocked, humiliated, or unable to keep their confidence.
Examples
The rejection crushed him more than he expected.
She felt crushed after losing the scholarship.
His confidence was crushed by months of criticism.
The news of the accident crushed the whole family.
A single cruel comment can crush a child’s enthusiasm.
They were crushed when the project was canceled.
Similar words
devastate
demoralize
dishearten
discourage
shatter
humiliate
wound
upset
Do extremely well
verb
achievement
informal
To perform very successfully or impressively, especially in a task, event, market, or competition.
Examples
You crushed that presentation.
The startup is crushing the market this year.
She walked onstage nervous, then absolutely crushed it.
Their new album is crushing the streaming charts.
He crushed the interview and got the job.
The team has been crushing every sales target.
Similar words
excel
shine
dominate
succeed
ace
nail
outperform
thrive
Feel a romantic attraction
verb
romance
informal
To have a strong, often temporary romantic attraction to someone.
Examples
I was crushing on my lab partner all semester.
She still crushes on celebrities from old movies.
He is crushing hard on someone from work.
They were both crushing on each other but too shy to say it.
My cousin started crushing on her best friend’s roommate.
Lots of fans are crushing on the lead singer.
Similar words
fancy
like
desire
adore
admire
fall for
be smitten with
be attracted to
Romantic infatuation or person
noun
romance
informal
A strong, usually temporary romantic attraction, or the person who inspires that feeling.
Examples
She had a crush on her neighbor for months.
His first crush was someone in his art class.
I finally talked to my crush after the concert.
The movie star became a teenage crush for millions.
It was only a passing crush, not love.
Her secret crush wrote back with a kind message.
Similar words
infatuation
attraction
fancy
admiration
desire
passion
soft spot
smitten feeling
Dense crowd
noun
crowds
neutral
A crowd packed so tightly that people are pressed together or movement becomes difficult.
Examples
We struggled through the crush outside the stadium.
A crush of shoppers filled the narrow aisle.
The crush at the station made it hard to breathe.
Security opened another gate to ease the crush.
There was a crush of reporters around the courthouse.
The hallway became a dangerous crush after the alarm.
Similar words
crowd
throng
press
mass
jam
congestion
huddle
mob
Fruit soda brand
noun
food
neutral
A brand of sweet carbonated soft drinks best known for orange soda and other fruit flavors.
Examples
I grabbed a cold Crush from the cooler.
Orange Crush is the flavor most people recognize first.
The shop sells Crush in grape and strawberry flavors.
She packed two cans of Crush for the picnic.
A bottle of Crush sat beside the sandwich.
The vending machine was out of Crush again.
Similar words
orange soda
fruit soda
soft drink
pop
soda
fizzy drink
carbonated drink
Etymology
From Middle English crushen, from Old French cruissir or croissir, meaning to gnash, crack, or smash. The crowd noun developed later, and the romantic slang sense is recorded in American English from the late nineteenth century.
FAQ
What does crush mean as a verb?
Crush usually means to press something so hard that it is damaged, flattened, broken, or packed tightly.
Can crush mean defeat?
Yes. To crush an opponent, rebellion, or argument is to defeat or suppress it completely.
What does crush it mean?
Crush it is informal and means to do something extremely well or succeed impressively.
Is crushing on someone correct?
Yes. Crushing on someone is informal, mainly American English, for feeling a romantic attraction.
What is a crush as a noun?
A crush can be a temporary romantic attraction, or the person someone likes romantically.
Can crush refer to a crowd?
Yes. A crush can be a tightly packed crowd where people are pressed together.
Is Crush a soda?
Yes. Crush is a fruit-flavored soft drink brand, best known for Orange Crush.
What is the past tense of crush?
The past tense and past participle are crushed.
Where does crush come from?
It comes through Middle English and Old French from words meaning to crack, gnash, or smash.
Is I crush her correct for romance?
No. The informal romantic verb is crush on, as in I am crushing on her.
Comments & contributions
Know this word from another angle? Add a correction, a nuance, or a usage note. New posts go public after a quick review.