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crash1 definition

crash (kras̸h)

intransitive verb

  1. to fall, collide, or break with force and with a loud, smashing noise
    1. to make a sudden, loud noise, as of something falling and shattering
    2. to move or go with such a noise
  2. to fall or land violently out of control so as to be damaged or smashed: said of aircraft
  3. to come to sudden ruin; collapse; fail their business crashed
  4. Slang
    1. to sleep
    2. to get a place to sleep temporarily
  5. Slang to come down swiftly from the euphoria induced by a drug
  6. Comput. to become inoperable because of a malfunction in the equipment or an error in the program

Etymology: ME crashen, prob. echoic var. of cracken (see crack); akin to Dan krase, to crackle, Ger krach, crash, disaster < krachen, to crack

transitive verb

  1. to break or dash into pieces; smash; shatter
  2. to cause (a car, airplane, etc.) to crash
  3. to cause to make a crashing sound
  4. to force or impel with or as with a crashing noise: with in, out, through, etc.
  5. Informal to get into (a party, theater, etc.) without an invitation, ticket, etc.

noun

  1. a loud, sudden noise, as of something falling and shattering
  2. a breaking or smashing into pieces
  3. a crashing, as of a car or an airplane
  4. a sudden fall, collapse, or ruin, esp. of business or a business enterprise

adjective

Informal designed for urgent, concentrated implementation and speedy results a crash diet, a crash course in Greek
crash2 definition

crash (kras̸h)

noun

a coarse cotton or linen cloth with a plain, loose weave, used for towels, curtains, clothes, etc. and in bookbinding

Etymology: earlier crasko, crasho, “Russian linen,” prob. a contr. < Russ krashenina, colored linen < krasit', to color < krasa, beauty

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:
crash Synonyms

crash

n.

  1. A crashing sound

    clatter, clash, bang; see noise 1.

  2. A collision

    wreck, accident, crackup; see collision 1.


crash

v.

  1. To fall with a crash

    overturn, upset, break down, plunge, be hurled, pitch, topple, smash, dive, hurtle, plummet, land violently, lurch, sprawl, tumble, fall headlong, fall flat, drop, slip, collapse, precipitate oneself, come a cropper*, spin in*; see also fall 1.

  2. To break into pieces

    shatter, smash, splinter, dash to pieces; see break 2, smash.

  3. To make a crashing sound

    clatter, bang, smash; see sound 1.

  4. To have a collision

    collide with, hit, strike, run together, run into, smash into, bump into, bang into, slam into, dash into, jostle, impact, bump, rear-end, sideswipe, butt, knock, punch, jar, jolt, go aground, hurtle into, crack up*, total*; see also hit 1, 2.

  5. To break down

    malfunction, shut down, fail; see break down 3.

  6. *To sleep

    go to bed, bed down, stay over, bunk*; see dwell, lodge 2, sleep.

  7. *To go uninvited

    invade, intrude, crash the gate*; see interrupt 2, meddle 1. See syn. study at break.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

crash Usage Examples

Object

  • saucer: Why would they have had a need to know for info about crashed saucers?

Converse of object

  • survive: Man survives glider crash Organ donor campaign launched A campaign to get more people on the national Organ Donor Register has been launched.

Preposition: at

  • 30mph: To help understand why excluding these groups is a fatal flaw, consider the case of a car crash at 30mph.

Adjective modifier

  • fatal: Suddenly having to stop or swerve to avoid a hazard can result in a fatal crash.

Modifies a noun

  • helmet: A new crash helmet can cost from £ 40 to £ 500.

Noun used with modifier

  • plane: He died in a plane crash in 1996 in Nigeria.

Preposition: against

  • crossbar: Leicester's Joey Gudjonsson went closer when his long range effort crashed against the crossbar.

Preposition: of

  • thunder: Just occasionally however, the storm clouds gathered right overhead and the flash and the crash of thunder seemed simultaneous.
crash usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

crash quotes

You can always tell that the crash is coming when I start getting tender about Our Dumb Friends.Three highballs and I think I'm St Francis of Assisi.

-Parker, Dorothy ne¤  e Rothschild

Bankers'genes were Wall St. genes, especially in the big cities. If the banks were conservative just now [1955], it was because bankers still awoke in the middle of the night, trembling and sweaty with thoughts of the Crash. But intimeanewgenerationwouldtake over: ambitious, overcompetitive young men to whom1929 would be merelya date on a page; such menwould sever theroots of memory as if with an ax, not realizing that those tendrils were also the rudder cables.

-Thomas, Michael M

crash quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"crash." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/crash>

APA Style

crash. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/crash

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