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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crunch
Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 24 July 2025
Then came the pandemic and a global logistics crunch.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 28 July 2025
George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 July 2025
And while the pro personnel department zeroed in on potential targets, Eager and his team crunched the numbers with various projection models.
—Mike Kaye
july 22, Charlotte Observer, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for crunch
Noun
Their reported effectiveness in treating obesity and diabetes had led to a supply crunch for semaglutide, with major pharmaceutical giants such as Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly scrambling to meet the demand.
—Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 24 July 2025
Then came the pandemic and a global logistics crunch.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 28 July 2025
Verb
Osbourne initially excelled with dark, doom-and-gloom songs that fused often grim lyrics about angst, alienation and dread with crunching guitar riffs, thumping drum beats and his powerful singing.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 July 2025
And while the pro personnel department zeroed in on potential targets, Eager and his team crunched the numbers with various projection models.
—Mike Kaye
july 22, Charlotte Observer, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for crunch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crunch
Noun
-
The idea for Draft One came from staffing shortages that Axon’s police department clients were facing, Isner said.—
Clare Duffy,
CNN Money,
12 Aug. 2025
-
Companies are experimenting with deep-sea tech to produce cheaper fresh water From Cape Town to Tehran to Lima to Phoenix, dozens of cities across the globe have experienced water shortages recently.—
Vanessa Bates Ramirez,
Scientific American,
11 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The flip side of such consolidated investment in one tech sector is a giant economic vulnerability that could lead to a financial crisis.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
18 Aug. 2025
-
During the inflation crisis of 2022, the stock decreased by 82.8% from its peak of $444.70 in November 2021 to $76.46 a year later, while the index experienced a 25.4% decline during the same period.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
18 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Consider Alex’s final audition — a now-iconic sequence that collapses grit and glam into a single, pulsating montage.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
10 July 2025
-
Chelsea showed character and grit and were worthy of their victory.—
Mark Carey,
New York Times,
4 July 2025
Noun
-
Another driver of instability is the lack of details about the trade agreements that have so far been reached.—
Sean Conlon,
CNBC,
17 Aug. 2025
-
Feeding those intrusive thoughts was a lack of precedent.—
Hunter Ingram,
Variety,
16 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Now, Maineri heads into year 12 with 18 pitchers on his roster, hoping that rising junior Caleb Gilbert and sophomore-to-be Zach Hess will emerge at the top of the pitching rotation.—
John Roach,
NOLA.com,
19 July 2017
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Cal Fire representatives said the current parking mess has already impacted them because the driveway to their station enters the highway not far from the trail head.—
J. Harry Jones,
Ramona Sentinel,
19 July 2017
Verb
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Additionally, 132 remains also had exhibited cut marks including slicing, scraping, and chopping.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
7 Aug. 2025
-
The small, sharp stone fragments used as tools were likely fashioned from larger pebbles in nearby riverbeds, and they were probably used for cutting or scraping, Brumm said.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Others shared clever ways to scratch the itch of shopping without actually spending any money.—
Malaka Gharib,
NPR,
7 Aug. 2025
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Don't scratch: A healing tattoo may be itchy, but resist the urge to scratch.—
Mark Gurarie,
Health,
7 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Crunch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunch. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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