Crush

A crush is a strong feeling of attraction or infatuation with someone, usually marked by excitement, nervousness, and frequent thoughts about that person. Crushes are a normal part of human development and can appear at any age. For many LGBTQ+ people, noticing a crush on someone of the same gender is an early and meaningful step in understanding their own sexual orientation, sometimes long before they have language for it. A crush may be acted on or kept private, and it can be fleeting or grow into deeper feelings. The word has been used in this romantic sense in English since at least the late 1800s.