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Glite Dictionary
🚗 A bad crash 🎶 A mix
smash-up

smash-up

1 5.8
A serious road crash where vehicles hit each other hard
  • noun
  • /ˈsmæʃˌʌp/
  • UK
translation icon : accidente
  • Emergency services responded quickly to the smash-up that blocked the main road.

Examples

  • I didn't want a smash-up like this.

    Cass Timberlane (1947)

  • The smash-up on the highway involved three cars and caused significant delays.

  • Witnesses described the smash-up as one of the worst accidents they had ever seen.

Synonyms

accident
vssmash-up
∞ 1.0

An unexpected event that causes harm or damage

is narrower, naming severe vehicle crashes with violent impact rather than any harm
crash
vssmash-up
∞ 2.3

A violent collision of vehicles like cars or planes that causes damage

is used for severe vehicle accidents rather than all violent impacts
collision
vssmash-up
148 3.8

A crash when two moving vehicles hit each other

is limited to severe vehicle crashes rather than any moving objects hitting
wreck
vssmash-up
105 2.7

A serious accident involving vehicles like cars

stresses violent vehicle impact, not only the overall damage result
car crash
vssmash-up
72 1.3

A collision between cars that causes damage or injury

is about severe vehicle accidents in general, not limited to one vehicle type
smash
vssmash-up
7 3.7

A violent crash that causes a loud noise and damage

is specifically a severe vehicle accident rather than any violent impact
smashup
vssmash-up
  • UK
4.4

A violent crash of vehicles that causes damage

is a severe vehicle accident that stresses violent impact

Antonyms

safety
∞ 1.0

A place or condition that protects you from danger

avoidance
39 3.7

Keeping away from something or stopping it from happening

How Severe

pile-up
3 3.2
smash-up
  • UK
1 5.8
collision
148 3.8
fender-bender
  • Informal
18 3.2

Surface Forms

smash-up singular
smash-ups plural

Morphology

smash-up = smash + up (transparent) = smash + up

Formed from the phrasal verb 'smash up' (smash + up) and denotes the result of a violent collision, which learners who know the components can readily infer.

Etymology

Smash-up comes from the word smash meaning 'break violently' or 'hit hard' and the little word up, which gives the picture of things hitting and breaking together, so a smash-up is a serious crash where vehicles are smashed together.