1. Use force to compress, making out of normal shape or condition
   "crush an aluminium can";
   - squash, squelch, mash, squeeze, squidge [informal], squish [informal]
    
2. Break into small pieces
   "The car crushed the toy"
    
3. Hurt or bruise with a squashing force
   "crush a toe";
   - jam
    
4. Become injured, broken, or distorted by pressure
   "The plastic bottle crushed against the wall"
    
5. Dominate or subjugate by unjust use of one's authority and power
   "The government crushes political activists";
   - oppress, suppress
    
6. Come out better in a competition, race, or conflict; defeat thoroughly
   "The underdog crushed the defending champion";
   - beat, beat out, shell [US], trounce, vanquish
    
7. Humiliate or depress completely
   "She was crushed by his refusal of her invitation";
   - smash
    
8. Make ineffective
   "Martin Luther King tried to crush racial discrimination";
   - break down

1. A dense crowd of people
   "There was a crush of people trying to enter the stadium";
   - jam, press
    
2. [informal] Intense but typically short-lived romantic feelings, especially in adolescence
   "Their crush blossomed in high school but faded after graduation";
   - puppy love, calf love [informal], infatuation
    
3. Leather that has had its grain pattern accentuated
   "The crush leather boots had a distinctive texture";
   - crushed leather

Derived forms: crushes, crushed, crushing

Type of: abase, act, alter, aroha [NZ], break, break up, bruise, chagrin, change, come apart, contuse [technical], crowd, exceed, fall apart, fragment, fragmentise [Brit], fragmentize, humble, humiliate, leather, love, modify, mortify, move, outdo, outgo [archaic], outmatch, outperform, outstrip, press, separate, split up, surmount, surpass

Encyclopedia: Crush, Tear, Curl