<B>crusher, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person or thing that crushes: <DD><B> a. </B>a person whose trade is to crush some article for economic purposes. <DD><B> b. </B>a machine for crushing or pulverizing raw material, such as seed, ore, or quartz. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Informal.) something which overwhelms or overpowers. <BR> <I>Ex. It's Destiny, and mine's a crusher! (Dickens).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Informal.) a crushing blow. </DL>
<A NAME="crushhat">
<B>crush hat,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a hat which can be crushed or folded without damage. <DD><B> 2. </B>a soft felt hat. <DD><B> 3. </B>an opera hat. </DL>
<A NAME="crushing">
<B>crushing, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> that crushes; bruising; overwhelming. <BR> <I>Ex. dealt a crushing blow.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> the act or process of pressing (grapes or seeds) in the production of wine and oil. <BR><I>expr. <B>crushings,</B> </I>crushed grapes or seeds. <BR> <I>Ex. Soybean crushings ... were up slightly from a year earlier (Wall Street Journal).</I> adv. <B>crushingly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="crushmark">
<B>crushmark, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a dent or mark made on an automobile window, especially the windshield, by flying bits of gravel or other hard objects. </DL>
<A NAME="crushproof">
<B>crushproof, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that will not crush. <BR> <I>Ex. a crushproof package.</I> </DL>
<B>crust, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the hard, outside part of bread. <BR> <I>Ex. Baking makes the crust hard and dry to protect the crumb inside.</I> <DD><B> 2a. </B>a piece of this. <BR> <I>Ex. The boy was told to eat the crusts of his sandwich.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>any hard, dry piece of bread. <DD><B> 3. </B>the rich dough rolled out thin and baked for pies. <BR> <I>Ex. A rich, flaky crust covered the top of the apple pie.</I> <DD><B> 4a. </B>any hard outside covering. <BR> <I>Ex. The frozen crust on the snow was thick enough for us to walk on.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>the hard outer shell of an animal or plant. <BR> <I>Ex. the crust of a lobster.</I> <DD><B> c. </B>(Informal, Figurative.) impudence; effrontery; gall. <BR> <I>Ex. He had a lot of crust shooting his bazoo off when it wasn't any skin off his teeth (James T. Farrell).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>the solid outer layer of the earth. <BR> <I>Ex. When the earth's crust is subjected to a local stress, it appears to behave like a brittle material (Scientific American).</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>a scab. <DD><B> 7. </B>a solid deposit on the inner surface of wine bottles; beeswing. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to cover with or as if with a crust; encrust. <BR> <I>Ex. The rocks were crusted with lichen.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to form into a crust; harden. <BR> <I>Ex. the dirt of half a century, crusted on the glass (Wilkie Collins).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to hunt (deer or other game) on the crust of snow. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to form or become covered with a crust. <BR> <I>Ex. By the next day the snow had crusted over.</I> adj. <B>crustless.</B> adj. <B>crustlike.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="crustacea">
<B>Crustacea, </B>noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD> a class of arthropods composed of the crustaceans. </DL>
<A NAME="crustacean">
<B>crustacean, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> any one of a group of animals with a hard shell, jointed body and appendages, and gills, that live mostly in water. Crabs, lobsters, and shrimps are crustaceans. <DD><I>adj. </I> of or belonging to this group. </DL>
<A NAME="crustaceology">
<B>crustaceology, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the science or study of crustaceans. </DL>
<A NAME="crustaceous">
<B>crustaceous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B><B>=crustacean.</B> <DD><B> 2. </B>having a shell or crust. <DD><B> 3. </B>of or like a crust. </DL>
<A NAME="crustal">
<B>crustal, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with a crust, especially of the earth or moon. <BR> <I>Ex. crustal rocks.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="crusthunt">
<B>crust-hunt, </B>intransitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to hunt deer or other game on the crust of snow when it is strong enough to support the hunter but not the game. noun <B>crust-hunter.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="crustose">
<B>crustose, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (of lichen and algae) growing in the form of crusts; sticking fast to soil, rock, or bark so as not to be detachable except in small fragments. </DL>
<A NAME="crusty">
<B>crusty, </B>adjective, <B>crustier,</B> <B>crustiest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of or like a crust; having a crust; hard. <BR> <I>Ex. crusty bread.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) harsh in manner or speech; crabbed; surly. <BR> <I>Ex. a crusty old bachelor. The crusty sea captain had a quick temper.</I> adv. <B>crustily.</B> noun <B>crustiness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="crutch">
<B>crutch, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a support to help a lame person walk. It is a stick with a padded crosspiece at the top to fit under a lame person's arm and support part of his weight in walking, or a shorter one that fits on the forearm and hand. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) anything like a crutch in shape or use; support; prop. <BR> <I>Ex. He used his father's help as a crutch to get through his homework.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a forked rest for the leg in a sidesaddle. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Nautical.) a forked prop placed under a boom or spar when the sails are not set. <DD><B> 5. </B>a stick with a perforated piece of wood or iron at the end, used to stir ingredients in making soap. <DD><B> 6. </B><B>=crotch </B>(defs. 2, 3). <DD><I>v.t. </I> to support with or as if with a crutch; prop; sustain. </DL>
<A NAME="crutched">
<B>crutched, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having or bearing a cross. <BR> <I>Ex. The crutched friars were an order of friars that carried or wore crosses.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="crutching">
<B>crutching, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the shearing of sheep wool from around the breech to protect the flock from blowflies (which are not attracted by the breech of newly shorn sheep). </DL>
<A NAME="crux">
<B>crux, </B>noun, pl. <B>cruxes</B> or <B>cruces.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the essential part; the most important point. <BR> <I>Ex. the crux of an argument. We had now reached the crux of our negotiations.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a puzzling or perplexing question; difficult point to explain. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Heraldry.) a cross. </DL>
<A NAME="crux">
<B>Crux, </B>noun, genitive <B>Crucis.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Astronomy.) the Southern Cross. </DL>
<A NAME="cruxansata">
<B>crux ansata, =ankh.</B></DL>
<A NAME="cruzado">
<B>cruzado, </B>noun, pl. <B>-does</B> or <B>-dos.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the monetary unit of Brazil, equal to 100 centavos. It replaced the cruzeiro in 1986. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=crusado.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="cruzeiro">
<B>cruzeiro, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ros.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the former monetary unit of Brazil, replaced by the cruzado. </DL>
