crashing

[ˈkɹæʃɪŋ]

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crash

Crashing is when something or someone falls to the ground quickly and strongly. It can also refer to a system or computer crashing, which means it stops working because of too much activity.

Imagine being on a bike and you hit a pothole - your bike crashes to the ground. That's one kind of crashing. But in the world of technology, when a website has too many visitors at once and can't handle all the requests, it might crash. This means that people won't be able to access their accounts or see the pages they want because the system is overwhelmed.

How common is "crashing"?

Word crashing is considered rare in modern English.
It has a balanced usage among all categories: speech, fiction, newspapers and academic texts.

Definitions

verb

To collide with something destructively, fall or come down violently.
To severely damage or destroy something by causing it to collide with something else.
Example: I'm sorry for crashing the bike into a wall. I'll pay for repairs.
(via gatecrash) To attend a social event without invitation, usually with unfavorable intentions.
Example: We weren't invited to the party so we decided to crash it.
To accelerate a project or a task or its schedule by devoting more resources to it.
To make or experience informal temporary living arrangements, especially overnight.
Example: Hey dude, can I crash at your pad?
To give, as a favor.
To lie down for a long rest, sleep or nap, as from tiredness or exhaustion.
(hardware) To terminate extraordinarily.
Example: If the system crashes again, we'll have it fixed in the computer shop.
(hardware) To cause to terminate extraordinarily.
Example: Double-clicking this icon crashes the desktop.
To experience a period of depression and/or lethargy after a period of euphoria, as after the euphoric effect of a psychotropic drug has dissipated.
To hit or strike with force
(of a patient's condition) To take a sudden and severe turn for the worse; to rapidly deteriorate.
To make a sudden loud noise.
Example: Thunder crashed directly overhead.