From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishldoce_060_acrushcrush1 /krʌʃ/ ●●○ verb [transitive] 1 SQUASHto press something so hard that it breaks or is damaged His leg was crushed in the accident. Two people were crushed to death in the rush to escape.2 BREAKto press something in order to break it into very small pieces or into a powder Crush two cloves of garlic.3 → crush a rebellion/uprising/revolt etc4 → crush somebody’s hopes/enthusiasm/confidence etc5 UPSETto make someone feel extremely upset or shocked Sara was crushed by their insults. → crush on somebody→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
crush• He had shouldered the troubles of the world and been crushed.• The army is stationed near the capital, ready to crush any signs of a revolt.• The whalers spring into the sea and the boat is crushed beneath the hull.• And it is like a butterfly wing, fragile and quickly crushed between finger and thumb even as we grasp it.• The rebellion was quickly crushed by forces loyal to the President.• Pete was crushed by his wife's sudden death.• Add a handful of crushed dill to a bottle of white wine vinegar.• Joe crushed his cigarette into an ashtray.• Coconuts have to be crushed in order to extract their oil.• Was Armand crushed in the process?• He closed his fist over the flower, crushing it into a pulp.• His laughter stopped in the middle; he scowled as if four very bad eggs had been crushed on his head.• Seles crushed Sabatini in last night's match.• Efforts to crush the trade have been stepped up recently.• Out he went, his blue and ivory feet crushing the wet salad of the lawn.crushed to death• In a crash your baby could be crushed to death.• Many of them were crushed to death.• The lad on its back, dolled up as King William, had been crushed to death against the wall.• Read in studio A labourer has been crushed to death by a cement lorry.• A zookeeper was crushed to death by a hippopotamus.• Read in studio A woman rider has been crushed to death by her own horse during a trials event.• There are instances of people being crushed to death or pushed under trains by the crush of excursionists on station platforms.• The victims were crushed to death when the coach turned over in the air and smashed into the ground roof downwards.• He was crushed to death when the roof fell in.crushcrush2 noun 1 [singular]CROWD a crowd of people pressed so close together that it is difficult for them to move There’s always such a crush on the train in the mornings.2 [countable]LOVE a strong feeling of romantic love for someone, especially one that a young person has for someone older who they do not know well → infatuation She had a huge crush on her geography teacher. It’s just a schoolgirl crush.3 [countable] American English informal someone who you have a feeling of romantic love for, but who you do not know well a first date with your crushExamples from the Corpus
crush• Now he has moved back, but my good friend has a crush on him, too.• Dear Kidsday: I have a crush on a boy.• Grandson Richard, 39, was in a crush of people all heading the same way.• A dangerous crush followed a surge at the front of the stage and the security subsequently panicked.• When I realized that Hilda's was more than a normal crush, I should have stopped it I suppose.• Airports are expecting a record crush of passengers this holiday season.• They are there to protect him from the crush of popularity.• Jess wormed through the crush, at last emerging into daylight.had a ... crush on• His laughter stopped in the middle; he scowled as if four very bad eggs had been crushed on his head.• Lots of girls had crushes on me - it was inevitable.• Years earlier, in Berlin, Claudia had had a serious crush on Sam McCready.• It turned out he had a crush on Carlo, too.• I think probably he had a little crush on me.• Playing a game of Truth with her brother, Marian realized that he had a crush on Amelia.• I was about 16 and I had a huge crush on him.• I had a crush on him.Origin crush1 (1300-1400) Old French cruisir 