say it: kroo-SAYD
crusade is a noun and verb meaning "a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end". It carries 4 recorded senses.
a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end
“he supported populist campaigns”
“they worked in the cause of world peace”
“the team was ready for a drive toward the pennant”
“the movement to end slavery”
“contributed to the war effort”
any of the more or less continuous military expeditions in the 11th to 13th centuries when Christian powers of Europe tried to recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims
exert oneself continuously, vigorously, or obtrusively to gain an end or engage in a crusade for a certain cause or person; be an advocate for
“The liberal party pushed for reforms”
“She is crusading for women's rights”
“The Dean is pushing for his favorite candidate”
go on a crusade; fight a holy war
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for crusade come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.