Dictionary

crushing en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈkɹʌ.ʃɪŋ/

Etymology

By surface analysis, crush + -ing.

Meanings

1. That crushes; overwhelming.
   • During the previous administration, crushing environmental regulatory burdens caused the average cost of vehicles to soar. 2026 June 29, Donald J. Trump, “Lowering the Cost of Living by Promoting the Freedom to Fix”, in The White House, archived from the original on 29 Jun 2026:
   • a crushing defeat
   • The TSSA union stated that he had been carrying out maintenance and died as a result of crushing injuries. 2020 December 16, Paul Clifton, “Investigation begins after death at Eastleigh depot”, in Rail, page 12:
   • The fruits of these kickstarted endeavors began to show in 1915, first in the deployment of a new range of depth charges. These were, mercifully, smaller than Jellicoe's "crushing hand of God" prototype, and, whilst practically just as lethal to submarines, they were significantly less risky to the launching ship, and could also be carried in larger numbers. 2019 July 24, Drachinifel, 11:06 from the start, in Anti-Sub Warfare in WW1 - From Hammers to Hunter-Killers, archived from the original on 24 Nov 2022:
2. Devastatingly disheartening.
   • crushing guilt
   • Oh, your dog has leukemia? That’s crushing.
   • crushing blow

Forms

Deriveds

noncrushing · crushingly · crushingness

Synonyms

gutting

Translations (17)

km ដ៏ខ្លាំង (that crushes) · bg съкруши́телен (that crushes) · ru сокруши́тельный (that crushes) · de niederschmetternd (that crushes) · es arrollador (that crushes) · fo knúsandi (that crushes) · km ដ៏ធំធេង (that crushes) · ro copleșitor (that crushes) · fi murskaava (that crushes) · pl miażdżący (that crushes) · el συντριπτικός (that crushes) · da knusende (that crushes) · nl verpletterend (that crushes) · es aplastante (that crushes) · fr écrasant (that crushes) · no knusende (that crushes) · pt arrasador (that crushes)

crushing en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈkɹʌ.ʃɪŋ/

Etymology

By surface analysis, crush + -ing.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) The action of the verb to crush.
2. (countable, uncountable) A former method of execution by placing heavy weights on the victim.
3. (countable, in-plural, uncountable) Crushed material.
   • oilseed crushings
4. (countable, uncountable) The act of subjecting sugarcane to crushing.
   • Mr. Holtze speaks with feeling upon this subject. His own experience had shown him the folly of planting sugar in dry soil, at a distance from water; the natural consequence was that, though the cane grew on the ironstone ridges of Palmerston, it would not throw up sufficient juice to make a good crushing. 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 265:

Forms

Translations (9)

ru разда́вливание (action of the verb) · ru уничтоже́ние (method of execution) · ro strivire (action of the verb) · ro zdrobire (action of the verb) · ru дробле́ние (action of the verb) · ru разруше́ние (method of execution) · ru размельче́ние (action of the verb) · ro turtire (action of the verb) · fr broyage (method of execution)

crushing en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈkɹʌ.ʃɪŋ/

Etymology

By surface analysis, crush + -ing.

Meanings

1. (form-of, gerund, participle, present) present participle and gerund of crush
   form of crush