crunched; crunching; crunches
1
: to chew or press with a crushing noise
2
: to make one's way with a crushing noise
1
: to chew, press, or grind with a crunching sound
2
: process
especially
: to perform mathematical computations on
crunch numbers
plural crunches
1
a
: an act of crunching
ate the cracker in one crunch
b
: a sound made by crunching
The only sound was the crunch of leaves underfoot.
There was a rather loud crunch as I bit into the battered dumplings.—
Fraser Glen
Fraser Glen
c
: the quality of being crunchy : the tendency to make a crunching sound when chewed or pressed
… make sure you have protein, a carbohydrate and a vegetable. You have to have crunch, flavour, salty and sweet in one.—Carla Grossetti
Carla GrossettiTexture is king in this salad, … with added crunch from toasted walnuts.—Eleanor Maidment
Eleanor Maidment2
: a tight or critical situation: such as
a
: a severe economic squeeze (as on credit)
b
: shortage
an energy crunch
a time crunch
c
: a critical point in the buildup of pressure between opposing elements : showdown
… the odd loss at Bankwest, combined with winning virtually nothing on the road, is going to come back to haunt them when the season reaches the crunch.—Scott Pryde
Scott Pryde3
: a conditioning exercise performed from a supine position by raising and lowering the upper torso without reaching a sitting position
Synonyms
Examples of crunch in a Sentence
Verb
We could hear the truck's tires crunching along the gravel road.
When she crunched the numbers, she found that the business's profits were actually much lower than the company had said.
Noun
the crunch of someone eating a carrot
We could hear the crunch of the truck's tires on the gravel road.
The crunch came when the computer stopped working.
Recent Examples on the WebRob Copeland, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2024
In crunching the numbers for how much millions of families could afford to pay for college in the next school year, the agency failed to account for inflation.
—Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
This circuitry, unique to the cerebellum, can crunch enormous amounts of incoming data from the senses to regulate body movement.
—R Douglas Fields, WIRED, 31 Mar. 2024
Dairy Queen’s Cupcakes Are Going Viral on TikTok – All About the Ice Cream Cake in a Cup
The peanut butter flavor is made with chocolate chip cookie dough, peanut butter topping and rainbow confetti crunch all mixed with soft serve.
—Antonia Debianchi, Peoplemag, 25 Mar. 2024
Along with the ranking itself, the firm also crunches numbers from Pitchbook and others to provide an overview of the funding climate for a sector that has been seen as relatively robust in the face of economic headwinds.
—Trevor Clawson, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Lopez has put early emphasis on a deep-dive study of the streaming content marketplace, using available viewership and spending data to crunch the ROI numbers based on the cost of TV series and movies.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
After crunching the numbers, the team named the Na Pali Coast along the island of Kaui in Hawaii as the No. 1 most unforgettable natural landmark in the United States — and the No. 10 most unforgettable natural landmark in the world.
—Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 26 Mar. 2024
According to numbers crunched by Pollstar, Swifties paid an average of $239 per ticket to see her show.
—New York Times, 12 Mar. 2024
Chloe Berger, Fortune, 19 Apr. 2024
For the crispy potatoes, Black specially selected a spud variety for its sugar, starch, and water content, and they’re then cooked three times—steamed, fried, baked—to achieve a shattering crunch and pillowy interior.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 18 Apr. 2024
The fruit is mashed, then bound into tender muffin form with whole-wheat flour and egg, perfumed with cinnamon and vanilla, and textured with a crunch of pecans, for a cakelike experience that is nourishing, too.
—Ellie Krieger, Washington Post, 17 Apr. 2024
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there was this pinch in Europe’s access to fossil fuels which translated into a crunch and in demand elsewhere in the world.
—Cara Buckley, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2024
These include planks, crunches, reverse crunches, sit-ups, hanging knee raises, mountain climbers, scissor kicks, leg raises and bicycle kicks.
—Daryl Austin, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
The okra retains a pleasant crunch and the matzoh balls are savory, a persuasive replacement for rice or even chicken.
—Danielle Dorsey, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Graham crackers: Crushed into crumbs and sprinkled on top just before serving for a nice bit of crunch.
—Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 8 Apr. 2024
The South Carolina native built his success on his double-barrel growl of a voice and roiling, capacious guitar crunch, which placed him squarely in the Southern jam-band tradition.
—Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 4 Apr. 2024
Verb
Generative artificial intelligence — the technology upending many industries with its ability to produce and crunch new data — has landed on Wall Street.
—Rob Copeland, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2024
In crunching the numbers for how much millions of families could afford to pay for college in the next school year, the agency failed to account for inflation.
—Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
This circuitry, unique to the cerebellum, can crunch enormous amounts of incoming data from the senses to regulate body movement.
—R Douglas Fields, WIRED, 31 Mar. 2024
Dairy Queen’s Cupcakes Are Going Viral on TikTok – All About the Ice Cream Cake in a Cup
The peanut butter flavor is made with chocolate chip cookie dough, peanut butter topping and rainbow confetti crunch all mixed with soft serve.
—Antonia Debianchi, Peoplemag, 25 Mar. 2024
Along with the ranking itself, the firm also crunches numbers from Pitchbook and others to provide an overview of the funding climate for a sector that has been seen as relatively robust in the face of economic headwinds.
—Trevor Clawson, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Lopez has put early emphasis on a deep-dive study of the streaming content marketplace, using available viewership and spending data to crunch the ROI numbers based on the cost of TV series and movies.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
After crunching the numbers, the team named the Na Pali Coast along the island of Kaui in Hawaii as the No. 1 most unforgettable natural landmark in the United States — and the No. 10 most unforgettable natural landmark in the world.
—Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 26 Mar. 2024
According to numbers crunched by Pollstar, Swifties paid an average of $239 per ticket to see her show.
—New York Times, 12 Mar. 2024
Noun
Those in couples are feeling less of a crunch, as 34% of partnered women report a lack of financial security compared to 40% of single women.
—Chloe Berger, Fortune, 19 Apr. 2024
For the crispy potatoes, Black specially selected a spud variety for its sugar, starch, and water content, and they’re then cooked three times—steamed, fried, baked—to achieve a shattering crunch and pillowy interior.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 18 Apr. 2024
The fruit is mashed, then bound into tender muffin form with whole-wheat flour and egg, perfumed with cinnamon and vanilla, and textured with a crunch of pecans, for a cakelike experience that is nourishing, too.
—Ellie Krieger, Washington Post, 17 Apr. 2024
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there was this pinch in Europe’s access to fossil fuels which translated into a crunch and in demand elsewhere in the world.
—Cara Buckley, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2024
These include planks, crunches, reverse crunches, sit-ups, hanging knee raises, mountain climbers, scissor kicks, leg raises and bicycle kicks.
—Daryl Austin, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
The okra retains a pleasant crunch and the matzoh balls are savory, a persuasive replacement for rice or even chicken.
—Danielle Dorsey, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Graham crackers: Crushed into crumbs and sprinkled on top just before serving for a nice bit of crunch.
—Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 8 Apr. 2024
The South Carolina native built his success on his double-barrel growl of a voice and roiling, capacious guitar crunch, which placed him squarely in the Southern jam-band tradition.
—Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 4 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crunch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Dictionary Entries Near crunch
Cite this Entry
“Crunch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crunch. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
crunch
1 of 2 verb1
: to chew, press, or grind with a crushing noise
2
: to move with a crushing sound
crunch
2 of 2 noun1
: an act or sound of crunching
2
: crisis sense 3
the energy crunch
3
: an exercise done by lying on the back and rising up without reaching a sitting position by bending forward at the waist
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