crush
Third Person
crushes
Present Participle
crushing
Past Tense
crushed
Past Participle
crushed
1
to forcibly push something against a surface until it breaks or is damaged or disfigured
transitive
- He accidentally stepped on and crushed the delicate flower in the garden.
- The heavy machinery was used to crush rocks into smaller fragments.
- She had to crush the garlic cloves with the back of a knife for the recipe.
- She accidentally crushed the plastic bottle on the sidewalk.
2
to become damaged, broken, or deformed under pressure
- The fragile glass ornament crushed easily when it fell to the floor.
- The cardboard box crushed under the weight of the heavy objects stacked on top.
- The car's roof began to crush upon impact in the collision.
- The delicate cookies would crush if not handled with care.
3
to overpower or repress a group or opposition
transitive
- The authoritarian regime crushed the uprising by arresting protesters and imposing martial law.
- The company crushed its workers' attempts to unionize by threatening layoffs and increasing surveillance.
- For years, the military dictatorship crushed any form of opposition, silencing critics through imprisonment and censorship.
- The invading forces crushed the local population's resistance, leaving no room for rebellion.
4
to overwhelmingly defeat or outperform an opponent or rival
transitive
- The home team crushed their opponents in the final match, winning with a score of 5-0.
- Despite being the underdog, the boxer crushed his opponent in the first round with a series of rapid punches.
- The tech company crushed its competitors this quarter, capturing a major share of the market.
- In the debate, he crushed his rival with well-researched arguments and a calm demeanor.
5
to deeply hurt or demoralize someone emotionally or mentally
transitive
- The harsh feedback from her boss completely crushed her, leaving her doubting her abilities at work.
- Hearing his childhood hero dismiss his work as unoriginal crushed him more than any other rejection he had faced.
- The bully’s cruel words crushed her, and she spent the rest of the day feeling worthless.
- The manager’s unfair accusations crushed the team, making them feel defeated before even trying to fix the problem.
Synonyms:
6
to press or squeeze something with force, breaking or damaging its structure, often to extract liquid or reduce it to smaller pieces
- She used a mortar and pestle to crush the ripe berries into a pulp.
- Be careful not to crush the grapes too hard, or the seeds will make the juice bitter.
- The machine crushes sugarcane to extract the sweet juice inside.
- He crushed the garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife before chopping them.
- To make fresh lemonade, first crush the lemon slices to release their flavor.
7
to have strong romantic feelings for someone, often secretly or from afar
- I've been crushing on my coworker for months, but she has no idea.
- He used to crush on his best friend back in high school.
- She's totally crushing over that actor from the new show.
- Are you crushing on anyone right now, or just enjoying being single?
- They were both crushing hard on each other before they finally started dating.