Macmillan Dictionary

Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

crash

 - definition
 
 
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
verb American English pronunciation: crash /kræʃ/ 
Word Forms
Close
present tense
I/you/we/theycrash
he/she/itcrashes
present participlecrashing
past tensecrashed
past participlecrashed
Other entries for this word
 
  1. 1
    [intransitive/transitive] Sound effect: crash if a plane crashes, or if someone crashes it, it falls from the sky

    A 727 crashed near Heidelberg.

    He crashed his plane on landing, causing $20,000 in damage.

    crash into:

    Amazingly, he survived when his plane crashed into the ocean.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of crash
    1. a.
      [intransitive] Sound effect: crash if a moving vehicle crashes, it hits something, causing damage

      The car skidded and I thought we were going to crash.

      crash into:

      Three people were killed when their car crashed into a tree.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of crash
    2. b.
      [transitive] if someone crashes a moving vehicle, they hit something with it, causing damage

      On his way to the party, Cliff crashed his car.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of crash
  2. 2
    [intransitive/transitive] to hit something hard, making a loud noise and often causing damage
    crash against/into/through/to:

    A ball came crashing through the window.

    The wind howled and the waves crashed against the rocks.

    crash to the floor/ground:

    As Kelly saw him, the tray she was carrying crashed to the floor.

    crash something against/into something:

    He lifted his foot and crashed it into the door.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of crash
    1. a.
      [intransitive] to make a sudden loud noise, as if something is being hit

      Thunder crashed and boomed outside.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of crash
  4. 4
    [intransitive] informal to sleep somewhere for the night, usually when you did not plan to do this

    You can crash at my place if you want.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of crash

phrase

This is the American English definition of crash. View British English definition of crash.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

View the pronunciation for crash.

 

cyberloafing

using the Internet where you work, during working hours, for activities which are not work-related

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day

dark matter

a substance that scientists think exists out in space, but for which they have no direct proof

Open Dictionary

show a bit of ankle

… to reveal a small part of your intentions in order to attract support, without actually committing yourself to doing anything

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog