What does squashed mean?
Squashed describes something that has been crushed, flattened, or compressed, usually as a result of pressure. The word is especially common for food, packaging, and other objects that have lost their original shape. It can also describe a place or vehicle filled with people or luggage: a room may be described as squashed when it is extremely crowded. As an adjective, "squashed" often conveys the result of an action, while as the past tense and past participle of "squash," it shows that the action has happened. The term is informal but broadly understood in British and American English and often appears in everyday descriptions of crushed produce, flattened boxes, and packed spaces.
Crushed, flattened, compressed, or forced into a smaller space; also, tightly packed or overcrowded.
"The squashed cartons made a stack in the corner of the garage."
Common in British and American everyday English. In British usage, it frequently describes a crowded space or vehicle.
To crush, flatten, or compress something, or to force it into a smaller space.
"They squashed the boxes before putting them in the car."
This is the past tense and past participle of "squash."
A squashed tin may be flattened, but a squashed subway car is crowded rather than crushed.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does squashed come from?
The word comes from the verb "squash," which is recorded in English by the early 17th century. Its ultimate origin is uncertain, although it is often associated with an older word meaning to press or squeeze. Related forms include "squashy" and the verb "squinch," which developed within the same broad family of squeezing-related meanings.
Related word forms
How squashed is actually used
As an adjective, the word is common in everyday speech and is usually used before a noun. It can describe physical damage, such as squashed fruit, or crowded spaces, such as a squashed room. In British English, "squashed" is also frequently used in the sense of tightly packed.
Easily confused with squashed
Squash is the verb of pressing or crushing something, while squashed describes the result of that action or a tightly packed place.
Squashed suggests forceful crushing or compression, whereas squished often describes something pressed into a smaller shape.