squash

¹

[ skwosh, skwawsh ]

verb (used with object)

1. to press into a flat mass or pulp; crush:

   She squashed the flower under her heel.

2. to suppress or put down; quash.

   Synonyms: repress, crush, quell

3. to silence or disconcert (someone), as with a crushing retort or emotional or psychological pressure.
4. to press forcibly against or cram into a small space; squeeze.

verb (used without object)

1. to be pressed into a flat mass or pulp.
2. (of a soft, heavy body) to fall heavily.
3. to make one's way with a splashing sound; splash.
4. to be capable of being or likely to be squashed:

   Tomatoes squash easily.

5. to squeeze or crowd; crush.

noun

1. the act or sound of squashing.
2. the fact of squashing or of being squashed.
3. something squashed or crushed.
4. something soft and easily crushed.
5. Also called squash racquets. a game for two or four persons, similar to racquets but played on a smaller court and with a racket having a round head and a long handle.
6. Also called squash tennis. a game for two persons, resembling squash racquets except that the ball is larger and livelier and the racket is shaped like a tennis racket.
7. British. a beverage made from fruit juice and soda water:

   lemon squash.

squash

²

[ skwosh, skwawsh ]

noun

, plural squash·es, (especially collectively) squash.

1. the fruit of any of various vinelike, tendril-bearing plants belonging to the genus Curcurbita, of the gourd family, as C. moschata or C. pepo, used as a vegetable.
2. any of these plants.

squash

¹

/ skwɒʃ /

noun

1. any of various marrow-like cucurbitaceous plants of the genus Cucurbita , esp C. pepo and C. moschata , the fruits of which have a hard rind surrounding edible flesh
2. the fruit of any of these plants, eaten as a vegetable

squash

²

/ skwɒʃ /

verb

1. to press or squeeze or be pressed or squeezed in or down so as to crush, distort, or pulp
2. tr to suppress or overcome
3. tr to humiliate or crush (a person), esp with a disconcerting retort
4. intr to make a sucking, splashing, or squelching sound
5. often foll byin or into to enter or insert in a confined space

noun

1. a still drink made from fruit juice or fruit syrup diluted with water
2. a crush, esp of people in a confined space
3. something that is squashed
4. the act or sound of squashing or the state of being squashed
5. See rackets
   Also calledsquash racketssquash racquets a game for two or four players played in an enclosed court with a small rubber ball and light long-handled rackets. The ball may be hit against any of the walls but must hit the facing wall at a point above a horizontal line See also rackets
6. Also calledsquash tennis a similar game played with larger rackets and a larger pneumatic ball

Derived Forms

• ˈsquasher, noun

Other Words From

• squasher noun
• un·squashed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of squash¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English squachen, squatche “destroy, smash,” from Old French esquacher, esquasser, from Vulgar Latin exquassāre. (unrecorded), equivalent to ex- intensive prefix + quassāre “to shake”; ex- ¹, quash

Origin of squash²

An Americanism dating back to 1635–45; from Narragansett ( English spelling) askútasquash (plural)

Word History and Origins

Origin of squash¹

C17: from Narraganset askutasquash , literally: green vegetable eaten green

Origin of squash²

C16: from Old French esquasser , from Vulgar Latin exquassāre (unattested), from Latin ex- ¹+ quassāre to shatter

Example Sentences

The two met last year when Riya, 19, took up squash during a gap year after graduating from Marshall High in Falls Church.

From Washington Post

A favorite of chefs and home cooks alike, you may not have to look far to find edible squash blossoms.

From Popular-Science

If folks think of squashes as vegetables, maybe they are vegetables.

From Popular-Science

Also called yellow zucchini, this squash is slightly sweeter that its green cousin.

From Washington Post

You’ll get a crunchy, crispy garnish for pasta enrobed in a thick, rich squash sauce.

From Washington Post

The salmon is presented atop a mound of sautéed vegetables: mushrooms, peppers, squash, onions, leafy greens, and herbs.

From The Daily Beast

There is increasing evidence that Assad is working with ISIS to squash the Free Syrian Army.

From The Daily Beast

Spaghetti squash also contains specific nutrients that help convert the tryptophan in other foods you eat into serotonin.

From The Daily Beast

Headache—Take the rinds of a couple of lemons and squash it into a paste.

From The Daily Beast

All this testing is serving to squash creativity and the excitement of learning.

From The Daily Beast

The Squash Maiden drew about her a rich green blanket, into which she had woven many flaunting gold trumpet-shaped flowers.

From Project Gutenberg

Corn Plume looked down at the Squash Maiden sitting on her blanket at his feet.

From Project Gutenberg

Ever after, corn and beans were planted in the same hill, and often a squash seed was added.

From Project Gutenberg

I guess it must be squash, for he likes mam-ma's squash pies so much.

From Project Gutenberg

Squish, squash echoed the milk in the great cylinder, but never arose the sound they waited for.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• crush
• extinguish
• flatten
• quash
• quell
• squish
• suppress
• trample