crunch 1 of 2

noun

Definition of crunchnext
1
as in shortage
a falling short of an essential or desirable amount or number a severe energy crunch that resulted in long lines at the gas pumps

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in crisis
a time or state of affairs requiring prompt or decisive action a player who's always good in a crunch, like when we need a goal to win the soccer match

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crunch

2 of 2

verb

ˈkrənch How to pronounce crunch (audio)
as in to grit
to press or strike against or together so as to make a scraping sound I could hear the bicycle gears crunch as I shifted the derailleur

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of crunch
Noun
Lower average car sales prices and a battery supply crunch weighed on revenues. — Leonie Kidd, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026 Rising utility costs are worsening the affordability crunch facing millions of American families, who are facing sharply higher gasoline and diesel prices amid higher oil costs due to the war in Iran. — Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
Verb
Children shouted, amped up on sugar and adrenaline, while orange leaves crunched under their feet. — Isa Mudannayake, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026 With so few ancient samples of dodo DNA surviving—and that which does exist having degraded over the centuries—the analytic and number-crunching power of AI is just what’s needed to fill in the genetic blanks. — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 14 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for crunch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crunch
  1. shortage
  2. crisis
  3. grit
  4. lack
  5. head
  6. scrape
  7. scratch
Noun
  • The bigger issue, Chesky argues, is a shortage of new construction.
    — Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Recently, anger at this collateral damage, heightened by the fish shortage, has evolved into a political movement.
    — Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of shortage
Noun
  • The ever-rising risk premium demanded by investors for holding those bonds shows that traders are still unconvinced that the French government has a plan to resolve its budget crisis.
    — Jim Edwards, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
  • But concrete reef structures powered by artificial intelligence could help to combat the environmental crisis.
    — Devika Rao, TheWeek, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of crisis
Verb
  • Meanwhile, Russian drivers grit their teeth, endure the lines, and hope that government promises that the shortages will ease after the agricultural harvest season – a time of peak demand – are fulfilled.
    — Fred Weir, Christian Science Monitor, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Red flag The Dodgers still don’t know what to reasonably expect from Ohtani, gritting out the postseason despite discomfort in his left knee and right arm.
    — Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of grit
Noun
  • The demonstrations first erupted last month in a high school in Creteil, southeast of Paris, over a lack of staff.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Management is guiding to flat EBITDA margins for the year, as lower-margin acquisitions and a fading FX tailwind offset productivity gains, so don't be worried about a lack of profitability growth in coming quarters.
    — Josh Brown,Sean Russo, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of lack
Noun
  • When he was fatally shot, Kridner and Abernathy said Garza had raised the golf club above his head and swung it toward Kridner.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Betsy Smith, the head of the Central Park Conservancy, the nonprofit which operates the park, cheered the passage of the bill.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of head
Verb
  • Startup Hamlet has parsed tens of thousands of city council meetings by scraping local governments’ video recordings, tagging comments as friendly or hostile to a potential project.
    — J.D. Capelouto, semafor.com, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Last week, Meta faced backlash after legal experts warned that the tech giant’s sweeping new commercial terms of service seemed to give Meta permission to endlessly scrape websites linked on business pages.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of scrape
Verb
  • Starting left tackle Elijah Paige had been scratched in pregame warm-ups at Penn State.
    — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Lee is forever grunting and scratching and clearing his throat.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of scratch

Phrases Containing crunch

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crumps
crunch
crunched
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Cite this Entry

“Crunch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunch. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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