crash
crash — verb
1. When a car, truck, plane, or other vehicle hits something with great force, ofte
When a car, truck, plane, or other vehicle hits something with great force, often causing damage or injury.
Nila lost control of her car on the wet road and crashed into a tree.
crash + into + object
The pilot managed to crash the plane in an empty field, saving everyone on board.
transitive: crash + vehicle
Caio's bicycle crashed into a parked van when the brakes failed.
A passenger plane crashed in the mountains during a heavy snowstorm.
The truck driver crashed into a shop window after the tires burst.
- crash into
- crash a car
- crash a plane
- crash a bicycle
Grammar Patterns
crash + into + object
crash + vehicle
Usage Note
Often used with 'into' to show what was hit. Use transitively ('He crashed his car') when someone causes the accident, or intransitively ('The plane crashed') without mentioning who caused it.
Common Mistakes
2. To strike something with loud, violent force, making a sudden noise or causing p
To strike something with loud, violent force, making a sudden noise or causing pieces to break apart.
A large wave crashed against the rocks, sending white spray into the air.
crash + against + object
The child crashed his toy truck into the wall, breaking off its front wheel.
Thunder crashed loudly overhead as the storm moved closer to the village.
intransitive: thing + crashes + adverb
Tamar crashed through the bushes to reach the other side of the garden.
A glass bottle crashed onto the stone floor and shattered into pieces.
- crash against
- crash through
- crash onto
- crash loudly
Grammar Patterns
crash + against/through + object
crash + something + into
Usage Note
Unlike sense 1 (CAR CRASH), this sense does not involve a vehicle — the subject can be any object or natural force. Common prepositions: against, through, into, onto.
Common Mistakes
3. Of a company, bank, or other organization — to fail completely and suddenly, bei
Of a company, bank, or other organization — to fail completely and suddenly, being unable to continue operating.
The restaurant crashed after only six months when the owner ran out of money.
intransitive: business + crashes
Several banks crashed in 2008 during the global financial crisis.
Layla's publishing company crashed when digital books replaced printed ones.
The construction firm crashed, leaving fifty workers without jobs.
- business crashes
- bank crashes
- company crashes
Grammar Patterns
business/company + crashes
Usage Note
Intransitive only — you cannot 'crash a business' in this sense. For causing a business to fail, use 'run into the ground' or 'force into bankruptcy.'
Common Mistakes
4. Of a computer, program, or electronic system — to stop working suddenly, often c
Of a computer, program, or electronic system — to stop working suddenly, often causing loss of unsaved data.
Hiro's laptop crashed before he saved his report, forcing him to rewrite it.
laptop/computer + crashes
The hospital computer system crashed, causing delays for patients waiting to see a doctor.
Rachel accidentally crashed the office server by running too many programs at once.
transitive: crash + system/device
My phone keeps crashing whenever I try to open the map application.
The airline's booking system crashed just before the holiday weekend began.
- computer crashes
- system crashes
- crash a server
- crash a program
Grammar Patterns
computer/system + crashes
crash + a computer
Usage Note
Can be transitive ('Something crashed the system') or intransitive ('The system crashed'). Use 'freeze' when the computer stops responding but does not shut down — 'crash' means it stops completely.
Common Mistakes
5. Of prices, stock values, or economic indicators — to drop suddenly and by a very
Of prices, stock values, or economic indicators — to drop suddenly and by a very large amount.
Oil prices crashed by nearly forty percent after the announcement.
prices + crash + by + amount
The stock market crashed in March, wiping out months of investor gains.
Share prices for the airline crashed when travel restrictions were announced.
The value of the local currency crashed against the dollar overnight.
House prices in the area crashed after the factory closed down.
- prices crash
- market crashes
- shares crash
- currency crashes
Grammar Patterns
prices/shares/market + crash
Usage Note
Intransitive only. The subject is the thing whose value is dropping (prices, shares, markets, currencies). 'By' introduces the amount of the drop.
Common Mistakes
6. To stay overnight at a friend's or acquaintance's home without having arranged i
To stay overnight at a friend's or acquaintance's home without having arranged it in advance.
After the concert, Amani crashed at Stefan's apartment instead of taking a taxi home.
informal: crash at [place]
Nikos missed the last bus, so he crashed on my sofa for the night.
crash on [furniture]
Maeve let us crash at her place after the party ended.
You can crash at my dorm if your train arrives too late for the buses.
- crash at
- crash on
- crash out
- stay over
less informal; can be planned
- sleep over
common among children and teenagers
- kip
British slang; very informal
Grammar Patterns
crash at [place]
crash on [furniture]
crash out
Usage Note
Always informal. Common in the phrases 'crash at [someone's place]', 'crash on [a sofa/bed/floor]', or 'crash out' (to fall asleep from exhaustion). Not used for sleeping in a hotel or your own bed.
Common Mistakes
7. To attend a social gathering or private function when you have not been asked or
To attend a social gathering or private function when you have not been asked or are not welcome.
Christopher crashed a wedding reception, pretending to be a guest from the bride's side.
informal: crash + event
Some students tried to crash the graduation party, but security stopped them at the door.
Élise and her friends crashed the film premiere and walked right onto the red carpet.
A group of tourists crashed the private dinner, thinking it was a restaurant.
- crash a party
- crash a wedding
- crash an event
- gatecrash
formal synonym for the same meaning; more common in British English
- sneak into
implies entering secretly rather than boldly
Grammar Patterns
crash + event/party
Usage Note
Always informal. The object is the event or party, never a person ('crash a party' ✓, 'crash someone' ✗). 'Gatecrash' is a formal synonym commonly used in British English.
Common Mistakes
crash — noun
1. An incident on a road, railway track, or in the sky where a vehicle strikes some
An incident on a road, railway track, or in the sky where a vehicle strikes something, resulting in harm or destruction.
Astrid was injured in a car crash on the highway last winter.
be in a crash
The train crash near the station injured over forty passengers.
Police arrived at the crash within minutes and closed the road.
Nobody survived the plane crash in the remote mountain area.
The driver walked away from the crash with only a few small cuts.
- car crash
- plane crash
- train crash
- fatal crash
- survive a crash
Grammar Patterns
a car/plane/train crash
be in a crash
die in a crash
Usage Note
Typically used with a vehicle type before it: 'car crash', 'plane crash', 'train crash'. 'Wreck' is another word for a badly damaged vehicle after a crash.
Common Mistakes
2. A sudden, loud, harsh noise like the sound of something heavy breaking, falling,
A sudden, loud, harsh noise like the sound of something heavy breaking, falling, or being smashed.
A loud crash came from the kitchen as the shelf fell off the wall.
countable: a loud crash
Stefan heard a crash and ran outside to see what had happened.
The vase hit the floor with a crash, scattering pieces across the room.
with a crash
There was a sudden crash of thunder that made everyone jump.
The window shattered with a crash when the ball hit it at full speed.
- loud crash
- with a crash
- crash of thunder
Grammar Patterns
a crash
with a crash
a loud crash
Usage Note
Often used with 'with a crash' to describe how something falls or breaks. A 'crash of thunder' is a fixed expression for a loud thunderclap.
3. A rapid, major decline in stock prices or financial asset values that harms an e
A rapid, major decline in stock prices or financial asset values that harms an economy's stability.
The stock market crash of 1929 left millions of people without savings.
stock market crash
Economists warned that a financial crash could happen if the housing bubble burst.
After the crash, many banks refused to lend money to small businesses.
The country's economy went into a crash after the price of its main export dropped.
Nila lost her entire retirement fund in the stock market crash of 2008.
- stock market crash
- financial crash
- economic crash
- market crash
Grammar Patterns
a stock market crash
an economic crash
a financial crash
Usage Note
Often collocates with 'stock market' or 'financial' before it. 'The Crash' (capitalized) historically refers to the Wall Street Crash of 1929 that started the Great Depression.
Common Mistakes
4. An event in which a computer, software application, or electronic device stops o
An event in which a computer, software application, or electronic device stops operating unexpectedly.
A system crash caused the airline to cancel all flights for three hours.
system crash
The computer crash deleted ten pages of Rachel's essay that she had not saved.
Regular backups protect your work in case of a sudden crash.
Tamar's phone had a crash and would not turn back on for several minutes.
The bank's main computer suffered a crash, so customers could not use their cards.
- computer crash
- system crash
- suffer a crash
- cause a crash
Grammar Patterns
a computer crash
a system crash
Usage Note
Often used interchangeably with the verb sense (verb/4). A 'crash' usually implies a complete stop; a 'freeze' means the system stops responding but does not shut down.
Common Mistakes
crash — adjective
1. Completed very quickly with concentrated effort — used before nouns like course,
Completed very quickly with concentrated effort — used before nouns like course, diet, or program to show urgency.
Caio took a crash course in Spanish before his trip to Mexico City.
crash course
The company ran a crash program to develop the vaccine in just six months.
Layla tried a crash diet before the wedding, but it made her feel weak.
crash diet
Stefan signed up for a crash course in photography to prepare for the assignment.
- crash course
- crash diet
- crash program
- crash landing
- intensive
formal; does not imply extreme speed like 'crash' does
- accelerated
suggests a faster pace, but less dramatic
- fast-track
used for programs designed for quick completion
Grammar Patterns
crash course
crash diet
crash program
Usage Note
Only used before a noun (attributive position). Almost always found in fixed phrases: 'crash course', 'crash diet', 'crash program', 'crash landing.' Not used on its own after 'be': ❌ 'The course was crash.'
Common Mistakes
Word family
- crashedadjectiveB1
- crashingadjectiveB2
- gatecrashverbC1
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
All three words describe a vehicle hitting something, but they differ in scope and focus. 'Crash' (noun/1) is the most common word for a serious vehicle incident involving damage or injury: 'The car crash blocked the highway for hours.' 'Accident' is the broadest term — it covers everything from a minor fender-bender to a major highway pileup, and also includes non-vehicle mishaps like slipping on ice. 'Collision' is more formal and technical, used mainly when two moving objects hit each other: 'The collision occurred at the intersection.' 'Wreck' focuses on the ruined state of the vehicle after the crash: 'The car was a total wreck after hitting the tree.' Use 'crash' for news reports and everyday speech, 'accident' for insurance and general safety talk, 'collision' for official police reports, and 'wreck' when describing the damage afterward.
Common collocations
Etymology
The word 'crash' first appeared in English around the year 1400, likely created as an imitation of the sound of something breaking or smashing (this is called onomatopoeia — words that sound like the noise they describe). It was originally used for the loud noise itself before expanding to describe vehicle accidents, financial collapses, and computer failures. The adjective use ('crash course') developed in the early 1900s, capturing the idea of something done with sudden, forceful speed.