Word.ws English Dictionary

crash to desktop

crash to desktop noun: an event where a software program running on a computer with an operating system that features a graphical desktop unexpectedly terminates without showing any error or halting of the system, and instead returns the user to the desktop.

Noun

crash to desktop (plural crashes to desktop)

  1. An event where a software program running on a computer with an operating system that features a graphical desktop unexpectedly terminates without showing any error or halting of the system, and instead returns the user to the desktop.
    • Five months in the making, this latest effort goes a long way in fixing various avionics, campaign, AI, multiplayer and crash-to-desktop issues (see the patch on this month's demo disk).c. 1999, Computer Gaming World - Volumes 181-185, Golden Empire Publications
    • The only force more powerful than the nuclear bunker-buster is the crash to desktop.2008, PC Gamer, volume 15, GP Publications, page 6
    Synonyms:
    CTD

Verb

crash to desktop (third-person singular simple present crashes to desktop, present participle crashing to desktop, simple past and past participle crashed to desktop)

  1. To experience such an error.
    • Finally, as if that wasn't punishment enough, the game crashed to desktop several times during my tests.2007, PC Gamer, volume 14, numbers 4-6, GP Publications, page 69
    • Some programs, especially online games, tend to have coding problems that leave them with memory holes - in other words, they don't delete information from your PC's memory once they're finished with it, they just keep adding and adding until everything overflows. Eventually, this can cause the...2008, Adam Oxford, Windows Vista - Autumn 2008, Future US, →ISSN, page 67

Examples of crash to desktop in a sentence

  • Eventually, this can cause the game to crash to desktop, but adding more memory can help prevent this.2008, Adam Oxford, Windows Vista - Autumn 2008, Future US, →ISSN, page 67:
  • Despite extensive planning and countless rounds of testing, we found out (much too late) to our chagrin that the game would “crash to desktop” on certain computers.2009, Gibson, David, Baek, Young Kyun, Digital Simulations for Improving Education: Learning Through Artificial Teaching Environments...

Synonyms of crash to desktop

Forms of crash to desktop

Noun
pluralcrashes to desktop
alternative formcrash-to-desktop
Verb
third-person singular presentcrashes to desktop
present participlecrashing to desktop
past participlecrashed to desktop
pastcrashed to desktop

Questions about crash to desktop

What does crash to desktop mean?
Crash to desktop means an event where a software program running on a computer with an operating system that features a graphical desktop unexpectedly terminates without showing any error or halting of the system, and instead returns the user to the desktop.
How do you use crash to desktop in a sentence?
Eventually, this can cause the game to crash to desktop, but adding more memory can help prevent this.
What part of speech is crash to desktop?
Crash to desktop can be a noun or a verb.
What is the plural of crash to desktop?
The plural of crash to desktop is crashes to desktop.

Words near crash to desktop in the dictionary

  1. crash tenders
  2. crash test
  3. crash test dummies
  4. crash test dummy
  5. crash tests
  6. crash to desktop
  7. crash trolley
  8. crash trolleys
  9. crash zoom
  10. crash zooms
  11. crash-dive

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: crash to desktop (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “crash to desktop.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/crash_to_desktop. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.