crush
n. countablen. a strong but usually short-lived feeling of love for someone. You use this when you like someone a lot, but you might be too shy to tell them.
n. an intense but typically ephemeral romantic infatuation, often directed toward someone unattainable or socially distant. Informal in register.
I had a huge crush on my math teacher in high school.
She realized her feelings were more than just a passing crush when she couldn't stop thinking about him for months.
While teenage crushes are often dismissed as superficial, they represent a significant developmental milestone in navigating the complexities of interpersonal attraction and emotional vulnerability.
From Middle English cruschen (“to crush, smash, squeeze, squash”), from Old French croissir (“to crush”), from Late Latin crusciō (“to crush”), from Frankish krustijan (“to crush, squeeze, squash”), from Proto-Germanic *kreustaną (“to crush, grind, strike, smash”). Cognate with Middle Low German tôkrosten (“to crush, shatter”), Swedish krysta (“to squeeze”), Danish kryste (“to squash”), Icelandic kreista (“to squeeze, squash”), Faroese kroysta (“to squeeze”), Gothic 𐌺𐍂𐌹𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽 (kriustan, “to gnash”). Akin also to Middle Dutch crosen (“to bruise, crush”), Middle Low German krossen, krö̂sen, tôkrö̂sen (“to break, shatter”), Old Swedish krusa (“to crush”).
Commonly used with the verb 'have' and the preposition 'on' ('to have a crush on someone').
I have a crush for himI have a crush on himThe noun 'crush' collocations with the preposition 'on' when identifying the object of affection.