crash
[noun]
Synonyms:
- collision, accident, bump, pile-up (informal), prang (informal), smash, wreck
- smash, bang, boom, clang, clash, clatter, din, racket, thunder
- collapse, debacle, depression, downfall, failure, ruin
[verb]
Synonyms:
- collide, bump (into), crash-land (an aircraft), drive into, have an accident, hit, plough into, wreck
- collapse, be ruined, fail, fold, fold up, go belly up (informal), go bust (informal), go to the wall, go under
- hurtle, fall headlong, give way, lurch, overbalance, plunge, topple

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Antonyms: skyrocket
Related Words: accident, collision

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English Thesaurus: accident, crash, collision, a head-on collision, disaster, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. crash¹ /kræʃ/ verb
[Date: 1300-1400; Origin: Probably from the sound]

1. CAR/PLANE ETC [intransitive and transitive] to have an accident in a car, plane etc by violently hitting something else ⇒ collide:
The jet crashed after take-off.
crash into/onto etc
The plane crashed into a mountain.
crash a car/bus/plane etc
He was drunk when he crashed the car.

2. HIT SOMEBODY/SOMETHING HARD [I, T always + adv/prep] to hit something or someone extremely hard while moving, in a way that causes a lot of damage or makes a lot of noise
crash into/through etc
A brick crashed through the window.
We watched the waves crashing against the rocks.
The plates went crashing to the ground.
A large branch came crashing down.

3. LOUD NOISE [intransitive] to make a sudden loud noise:
Thunder crashed and boomed outside.

4. COMPUTER [intransitive and transitive] if a computer crashes, or if you crash the computer, it suddenly stops working:
The system crashed and I lost three hours’ worth of work.

5. FINANCIAL [intransitive] if a stock market or shares crash, they suddenly lose a lot of value

6. SPORT [intransitive] British English to lose very badly in a sports event:
Liverpool crashed to their worst defeat of the season.

7. SLEEP [intransitive] spoken
a) to stay at someone’s house for the night:
Can I crash at your place on Saturday night?
b) (also crash out) to go to bed, or go to sleep very quickly, because you are very tired:
I crashed out on the sofa this afternoon.

8. PARTY [transitive] informal to go to a party that you have not been invited to:
We crashed Joe’s party yesterday.

9. crashing bore British English old-fashioned someone who is very boring

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. crash² S3 noun [countable]

1. an accident in which a vehicle violently hits something else ⇒ collision
plane/car/rail crash
Forty-one people were killed in a plane crash.
a fatal crash (=one in which someone is killed)
crash between/with
She was involved in a head-on crash with a motorbike (=in which the front of one vehicle directly hits the front of another).
a motorway crash between a coach and a lorry
a crash victim

2. a sudden loud noise made by something falling, breaking etc:
I heard a loud crash.
with a crash
The branch came down with a crash.
crash of
a crash of thunder

3. an occasion when a computer or computer system suddenly stops working

4. an occasion on which the stocks and shares in a stock market suddenly lose a lot of value:
the stock market crash of October 1987

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

crash
noun
I. sudden loud noise
ADJ. almighty, deafening, great, loud, thunderous | distant | sickening, terrible There was a sickening crash as her head hit the ground.
VERB + CRASH hear
PREP. with a ~ The plates fell to the floor with an almighty crash.
~ of a distant crash of thunder
PHRASES a crash of thunder, the crash of the waves

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

crash
II. car/plane, etc. accident
ADJ. horrific, major, serious a major air crash
fatal | head-on | high-speed | car, coach, helicopter, plane, train | air, motorway, rail, road
VERB + CRASH cause
CRASH + VERB happen, occur | involve sth a crash involving two cars and a lorry
kill sb | claim sth The crash claimed three lives.
CRASH + NOUN victim | site | landing | barrier
PREP. in a/the ~ He was killed in a train crash.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

crash
III. business failure
ADJ. financial | bank, property, stock market the stock market crash of 1987
PREP. ~ in a crash in share prices

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

crash
verb
BAD: The train couldn't stop in time and crashed with the truck.
GOOD: The train couldn't stop in time and crashed into the truck.
BAD: I lost control of the car and crashed a palm tree.
GOOD: I lost control of the car and crashed into a palm tree.

Usage Note:
crash into sth : 'The aircraft had crashed into the mountainside, leaving no survivors.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

accident an event in which a vehicle is damaged and often someone is hurt:
Her father died in a car accident.
Hugh had an accident on his way to work.
crash a serious accident in which a vehicle hits something else:
Rees-Jones was the only person to survive the crash.
a car/plane/train crash
He was killed in a plane crash.
collision an accident in which two or more cars, trains etc hit each other:
His car was involved in a collision with a train.
⇒ a head-on collision (=between vehicles that are driving towards each other):
The actor was killed in a head-on collision while driving his new sports car.
disaster a serious accident involving a train, plane, or boat, in which a lot of people are killed or injured:
It was Britain’s worst air disaster.
wreck American English an accident in which a car or train is badly damaged:
Ben nearly died in a car wreck.
pile-up an accident that involves several cars or trucks:
The pile-up happened in thick fog.
There was a 12-car pile-up on the motorway.
fender-bender American English informal
, prang British English informal a car accident in which little damage is done:
Atkinson was involved in a fender-bender in the hotel parking lot.
At 15, he borrowed his parents’ car and had a prang.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

bang a loud sound caused especially when something hard or heavy hits something else:
I heard a loud bang and rushed out to see what had happened.
He slammed the door shut with a bang.
crash a very loud sound caused when something hits something else, especially when damage is caused:
The tray of dishes fell to the floor with a crash.
I heard an enormous crash outside our house, and I went to see what had happened.
thud a quiet low sound made when a heavy object falls down onto surface:
There was a dull thud as the box hit the floor.
His head hit the ground with a sickening thud.
thump a dull loud sound made when a heavy object hits something else:
There was a loud thump as Eddie threw Luther back against the wall.
clink a short ringing sound made when two glass, metal, or china objects hit each other:
the clink of champagne glasses
The clink of cutlery could be heard in the restaurant.
tinkle the pleasant sound that is made by light pieces of glass or metal hitting each other repeatedly:
He listened to the faint tinkle of cow bells in the distance.
jingle the sound of small metal objects being shaken together:
the jingle of her bracelets
the jingle of keys
rattle a short repeated sound made when things hit against each other - used especially when part of something is loose and is hitting against something:
There was a strange rattle coming from the engine.
the rattle of the trolley

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

crash verb [intransitive and transitive] to hit another vehicle, a tree, the ground etc, with a lot of force, causing a lot of damage:
The plane crashed a kilometre from the runway.
He was scared I’d crash his car.
The car crashed into a tree.
hit verb [transitive] to move into something quickly and with force:
He wasn’t paying attention, and almost hit another car.
The car hit a lamppost.
collide verb [intransitive] if two cars, trains, planes etc collide, they hit each other, especially when they are moving in opposite directions:
The two planes collided in mid-air.
An express train collided with a freight train in the morning rush hour.
run into something phrasal verb [transitive] to hit a vehicle or object that is directly in front of you, especially because you are not paying attention:
He ran into the car in front while he was talking on his mobile phone.
smash into something phrasal verb [transitive] to crash into something, causing a great amount of damage:
An army helicopter smashed into the side of the mountain.
plough into British English, plow into American English phrasal verb [transitive] to crash into something with a lot of force, especially when your vehicle continues moving afterwards:
The bus went out of control and ploughed into a line of traffic.
ram verb [transitive] to deliberately hit another boat or vehicle very hard, especially when it is not moving:
The ship had been rammed by a submarine.
The gunmen tried to ram the police car.
a car/train/plane etc crash
He was badly hurt in a car crash.
a road/rail/air crash
There will be an investigation into the cause of the air crash.
a head-on crash (=in which the front part of two vehicles hit each other)
He died in a head-on crash with a lorry.
a fatal crash (=in which someone is killed)
There have been several fatal crashes on this road.
a high-speed crash
the risk of injury from a high-speed crash
a horrific/terrible/appalling crash
a horrific crash in which three teenage boys were killed
have a crash (also be involved in a crash) (=in a car)
I’ve been nervous about driving since I had a crash last year.
a crash happens/occurs
The three-vehicle crash happened on the corner of Ongar Road.
a crash involves something
Two women were taken to hospital after a crash involving a bus and a car.
a crash victim (=someone injured or killed in a crash)
Families of the crash victims want to know what happened.
a crash site/scene (=place where a crash happens)
The authorities closed off a five-mile area around the crash site.
a crash investigator (=someone who tries to find the cause of a crash)
Crash investigators spent several days examining the scene.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

destroy to damage something so badly that it no longer exists or cannot be used or repaired:
The earthquake almost completely destroyed the city.
The twin towers were destroyed in a terrorist attack.
devastate to damage a large area very badly and destroy many things in it:
Allied bombings in 1943 devastated the city.
The country’s economy has been devastated by years of fighting.
demolish to completely destroy a building, either deliberately or by accident:
The original 15th century house was demolished in Victorian times.
The plane crashed into a suburb of Paris, demolishing several buildings.
flatten to destroy a building or town by knocking it down, bombing it etc, so that nothing is left standing:
The town centre was flattened by a 500 lb bomb.
wreck to deliberately damage something very badly, especially a room or building:
The toilets had been wrecked by vandals.
They just wrecked the place.
trash informal to deliberately destroy a lot of the things in a room, house etc:
Apparently, he trashed his hotel room while on drugs.
obliterate formal to destroy a place so completely that nothing remains:
The nuclear blast obliterated most of Hiroshima.
reduce something to ruins/rubble/ashes to destroy a building or town completely:
The town was reduced to rubble in the First World War.
ruin to spoil something completely, so that it cannot be used or enjoyed:
Fungus may ruin the crop.
The new houses will ruin the view.
accident an event in which a vehicle is damaged and often someone is hurt:
Her father died in a car accident.
Hugh had an accident on his way to work.
crash a serious accident in which a vehicle hits something else:
Rees-Jones was the only person to survive the crash.
a car/plane/train crash
He was killed in a plane crash.
collision an accident in which two or more cars, trains etc hit each other:
His car was involved in a collision with a train.
⇒ a head-on collision (=between vehicles that are driving towards each other):
The actor was killed in a head-on collision while driving his new sports car.
disaster a serious accident involving a train, plane, or boat, in which a lot of people are killed or injured:
It was Britain’s worst air disaster.
pile-up an accident that involves several cars or trucks:
The pile-up happened in thick fog.
There was a 12-car pile-up on the motorway.
fender-bender American English informal
, prang British English informal a car accident in which little damage is done:
Atkinson was involved in a fender-bender in the hotel parking lot.
At 15, he borrowed his parents’ car and had a prang.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

hit to hit someone quickly and hard with your hand, a stick etc:
He hit him hard in the stomach.
I don’t like to see people hitting a dog.
beat to hit someone deliberately many times, especially very hard:
The girl had been beaten to death.
He was beating the donkey with a stick.
strike written to hit someone with your hand or a weapon. Strike is more formal than hit and is mainly used in written English:
Her husband struck her twice across the face.
Police say that the man had been struck on the head.
punch to hit someone hard with your closed hand, especially in a fight:
I punched him on the nose.
She was screaming and punching him with her fists.
thump /θʌmp/ informal to punch someone very hard:
Sometimes I just want to thump him.
beat somebody up to hurt someone badly in a violent attack, by hitting them many times:
If I tell the police, they'll beat me up.
He had been beaten up and tortured with lighted cigarettes.
slap to hit someone with your open hand, especially because you are angry with them:
They had a big row and she ended up slapping him.
spank (also smack especially British English) to hit someone, especially a child, with your open hand in order to punish them:
Should a parent ever smack a child?
I don’t agree with smacking.
In those days, children were spanked if they behaved badly.
bang a loud sound caused especially when something hard or heavy hits something else:
I heard a loud bang and rushed out to see what had happened.
He slammed the door shut with a bang.
crash a very loud sound caused when something hits something else, especially when damage is caused:
The tray of dishes fell to the floor with a crash.
I heard an enormous crash outside our house, and I went to see what had happened.
thud a quiet low sound made when a heavy object falls down onto surface:
There was a dull thud as the box hit the floor.
His head hit the ground with a sickening thud.
clink a short ringing sound made when two glass, metal, or china objects hit each other:
the clink of champagne glasses
The clink of cutlery could be heard in the restaurant.
tinkle the pleasant sound that is made by light pieces of glass or metal hitting each other repeatedly:
He listened to the faint tinkle of cow bells in the distance.
jingle the sound of small metal objects being shaken together:
the jingle of her bracelets
the jingle of keys
rattle a short repeated sound made when things hit against each other - used especially when part of something is loose and is hitting against something:
There was a strange rattle coming from the engine.
the rattle of the trolley

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

recession a period when a country’s economic growth stops and there is less trade:
The industry has cut jobs due to the recession.
fears that the economy may be sliding into recession
depression a long period during which there is a bad recession, so that there is very little business activity and a lot of people do not have jobs:
During the depression of the 1930s, as many as 20% of the population were jobless.
slump a fairly short period when there is a reduction in business and many people lose their jobs:
The slump in the housing market is making it difficult for people to sell their homes.
slowdown a period when there is a reduction in business activity, that may be the start of a recession:
High prices could tip the slowdown in the US into a world recession.
downturn a period during which there is a reduction in business activity and economic conditions become worse, when before the economy was growing:
Public spending may reduce the effects of the downturn.
crash an occasion when the value of stocks and shares on a stock market falls suddenly and by a large amount, causing economic problems:
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 was disastrous for not only the American economy, but for the world economy.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

shake to move suddenly from side to side or up and down, usually with a lot of force:
The floor shook from a distant explosion.
The walls were still shaking.
The trees were shaking in the wind.
rattle to shake and make a noise:
The windows rattled in the wind.
The train was rattling over the bridge.
vibrate to shake continuously with small fast movements:
The music was so loud that the whole room vibrated.
The atoms vibrate at different frequencies.
wobble to move unsteadily from side to side:
The bike began to wobble alarmingly as she fought to control it.
The cup wobbled and he grabbed it to stop it from falling.
rock to move gently backwards and forwards or from side to side:
The trailer rocked in the wind.
The boat was rocking from side to side with the waves.
shudder (also judder especially British English) if a vehicle or machine shudders, it shakes for a short time.:
The lift shuddered then began to descend.
The engine shuddered into life (=it shook and then started working).
The car juddered to a halt (=it shook and then stopped) outside the house.
bang a loud sound caused especially when something hard or heavy hits something else:
I heard a loud bang and rushed out to see what had happened.
He slammed the door shut with a bang.
crash a very loud sound caused when something hits something else, especially when damage is caused:
The tray of dishes fell to the floor with a crash.
I heard an enormous crash outside our house, and I went to see what had happened.
thud a quiet low sound made when a heavy object falls down onto surface:
There was a dull thud as the box hit the floor.
His head hit the ground with a sickening thud.
thump a dull loud sound made when a heavy object hits something else:
There was a loud thump as Eddie threw Luther back against the wall.
clink a short ringing sound made when two glass, metal, or china objects hit each other:
the clink of champagne glasses
The clink of cutlery could be heard in the restaurant.
tinkle the pleasant sound that is made by light pieces of glass or metal hitting each other repeatedly:
He listened to the faint tinkle of cow bells in the distance.
jingle the sound of small metal objects being shaken together:
the jingle of her bracelets
the jingle of keys

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

squeak a very short high sound or cry:
I heard the squeak of his shoes on the tiled floor.
Annie gave a squeak of surprise.
creak a long high sound that something makes when someone opens it, walks on it, sits on it etc - used especially about a door, wooden floor, bed, or stairs:
the creak of floorboards
The door opened with a creak.
screech a loud, long, unpleasantly high sound - used especially about someone’s voice, or about brakes, tyres etc:
There was a screech of tyres followed by a bang.
She let out a screech of horror.
beep (also bleep British English) a high electronic sound that a machine sends out, especially in order to attract someone’s attention:
You’ll hear a bleep when the photocopier’s finished printing.
hum a quiet low continuous sound, especially from electrical equipment, traffic, an engine, or people’s conversation:
The only sound was the faint hum of the air-conditioning unit.
He could hear the hum of distant traffic.
rustle a continuous quiet sound from papers, leaves, or clothes when they rub together:
She heard the rustle of dried leaves behind her.
the rustle of silk dresses
murmur a quiet low continuous sound, especially from people’s voices that are far away:
The murmur of voices died away.
They spoke in a low murmur.
rumble a series of long low sounds, especially from big guns, traffic, or thunder:
I heard a rumble of thunder.
the low rumble of a train approaching
splash the sound that a liquid makes when something hits it, or when it hits against another thing:
She jumped into the pool with a big splash.
the splash of the waves against the rocks
gurgle the low sound that water makes when it flows gently over or through something:
the gurgle of a stream
She listened to the gurgle as the water drained out of the bath.
plop the sudden short sound when something is dropped into a liquid:
Kate dropped the ice into her glass with a plop.
hiss a continuous high sound when air or gas comes out of something:
There was a hiss of steam from the coffee machine.
Workers reported hearing a loud hiss moments before the explosion.
bang a short sudden loud noise made by a gun, bomb etc:
There was a loud bang as the bomb exploded.
The firework went off with a bang.
boom a very loud sound from an explosion, which you can hear for several seconds after it begins:
The building exploded into rubble with a loud boom.
The boom of artillery fire echoed in the distance.
roar a continuous very loud noise that gets louder and continues for a long time:
The light was followed by the deafening roar of explosions.
the roar of the ship’s guns
crash a very loud sound caused when something hits something else, especially when damage is caused:
The tray of dishes fell to the floor with a crash.
I heard an enormous crash outside our house, and I went to see what had happened.
thud a quiet low sound made when a heavy object falls down onto surface:
There was a dull thud as the box hit the floor.
His head hit the ground with a sickening thud.
thump a dull loud sound made when a heavy object hits something else:
There was a loud thump as Eddie threw Luther back against the wall.
clink a short ringing sound made when two glass, metal, or china objects hit each other:
the clink of champagne glasses
The clink of cutlery could be heard in the restaurant.
tinkle the pleasant sound that is made by light pieces of glass or metal hitting each other repeatedly:
He listened to the faint tinkle of cow bells in the distance.
jingle the sound of small metal objects being shaken together:
the jingle of her bracelets
the jingle of keys
rattle a short repeated sound made when things hit against each other - used especially when part of something is loose and is hitting against something:
There was a strange rattle coming from the engine.
the rattle of the trolley
appear a more formal word for ‘seem’:
These reports appear to be unfounded.
look to seem to be something, often because of what can be seen:
The future looks bleak.
He looked pleased.
sound used to say that something or someone seems to be something because of what you have heard or read about them, or because of the noise or voice that you hear:
This study sounds very ambitious.
They heard what sounded like a blow.
come across as something to seem to have particular qualities:
He comes across as a very sensitive man.
sound advice
He gave us some sound advice.
sound judgement
He was beginning to rely on her sound judgement.
a sound reason
Both these buyers have sound reasons for their choice.
a sound investment
Property is usually a sound investment.
a sound policy
The problems of industry will only be solved by sound economic policies.
a sound basis
Sometimes friendship is a sound basis for a good marriage.
environmentally/ecologically sound
The government encourages environmentally sound management of the countryside.
ideologically sound (=good, according to a set of beliefs)
It was the ideologically sound thing to do.
scientifically/technically sound
Are these studies scientifically sound?

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲