"crushes" in the noun sense
1. crushed leather, crush
leather that has had its grain pattern accentuated
2. crush, jam, press
a dense crowd of people
3. puppy love, calf love, crush, infatuation
temporary love of an adolescent
4. crush, crunch, compaction
the act of crushing
"crushes" in the verb sense
1. oppress, suppress, crush
come down on or keep down by unjust use of one's authority
"The government oppresses political activists"
2. squash, crush, squelch, mash, squeeze
to compress with violence, out of natural shape or condition
"crush an aluminum can"
"squeeze a lemon"
3. beat, beat out, crush, shell, trounce, vanquish
come out better in a competition, race, or conflict
"Agassi beat Becker in the tennis championship"
"We beat the competition"
"Harvard defeated Yale in the last football game"
4. crush
break into small pieces
"The car crushed the toy"
5. crush, smash
humiliate or depress completely
"She was crushed by his refusal of her invitation"
"The death of her son smashed her"
6. jam, crush
crush or bruise
"jam a toe"
7. break down, crush
make ineffective
"Martin Luther King tried to break down racial discrimination"
8. crush
become injured, broken, or distorted by pressure
"The plastic bottle crushed against the wall"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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