phone crashed

Meanings

1. 1phraseintransitiveinformal

   A phone has suddenly stopped working, usually because its operating system or an app has failed.

   Grammar: Used as a complete sentence or clause; the subject is the phone itself. For the transitive use, say 'I crashed my phone'.

   Patterns

   • my phone crashed
   • the phone crashed

   My phone crashed while I was taking a photo, and I had to restart it.

   Her phone crashed during the video call, so we finished the meeting by email.

2. 2phraseintransitiveinformal

   A phone hit something and broke, or was damaged in a crash.

   Grammar: Usually used when the phone is the thing that moves and hits something, not when a person drops it. For dropping, say 'I dropped my phone'.

   Patterns

   • the phone crashed to the ground
   • the phone crashed against something

   The phone crashed onto the pavement and the screen shattered.

   His phone crashed against the wall when he tripped.

Common combinations

phone crashed

My phone crashed right in the middle of the game.

crashed again

The app crashed again, so I lost my work.

phone keeps crashing

My phone keeps crashing; I think I need a new one.

crash the phone

That bug can crash the phone if you tap too fast.

Synonyms and how they differ

froze

Use 'froze' when the screen stops responding but the phone is still on; 'crashed' often means it shut down or restarted.

died

'Died' is more informal and can mean the battery ran out completely, not a software failure.

Opposites

Word family

crash verb

To stop working suddenly (for a computer or phone) or to hit something violently.

crash noun

An occasion when a computer or phone stops working, or a vehicle accident.

Commonly confused: phone crashed or crashed?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “phone crashed”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words