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
Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 2 Sep. 2025
Packaging contains Moo-llennium crunch.
—Toby Meyjes, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
Health Editorial Team, Health, 28 Aug. 2025
At the same time, the Home Buyer Scarcity Index, which measures how crunched an area is for purchasable homes, has spiked.
—Nigel Chiwaya, NBC news, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crunch
Noun
Others argue that growth of institutional investors buying homes for rental has also contributed to the housing crunch.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 2 Sep. 2025
Packaging contains Moo-llennium crunch.
—Toby Meyjes, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
Verb
Keep your knees stacked over your hips, then lift your shoulders and crunch up.
—Health Editorial Team, Health, 28 Aug. 2025
At the same time, the Home Buyer Scarcity Index, which measures how crunched an area is for purchasable homes, has spiked.
—Nigel Chiwaya, NBC news, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crunch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crunch
Noun
-
But 2025 marks the highest number of staffing shortages since 2018.—
Natalie Eilbert,
jsonline.com,
4 Sep. 2025
-
This is driven by a shortage of primary care doctors and patients’ desire for more personalized care, Harrell said.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Vietnam's crisis is not yet as severe as Singapore's or some of East Asia's lowest-fertility states, but the trend line is moving in the same direction.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Today @FBIDirectorKash was in Cincinnati to announce charges in an operation targeting the fentanyl crisis.—
Washington Examiner Staff,
The Washington Examiner,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Just over two hours east of San Diego and 15 miles north of the Mexican border town of Mexicali, El Centro has both grit and charm.—
Travel + Leisure Editors,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Aug. 2025
-
But Ben’s defiance, instincts, and grit turn him into an unexpected fan favorite — and a threat to the entire system.—
Andrew McGowan,
Variety,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
And the noticeable dips also don’t come for the generations of players who would be expecting to play their peak years for England during wartime either — note the lack of games in the 1940s in the earlier graph.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
-
The lack of winning has been exactly the problem during the Chuba years at Carolina.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Be sure to cover your head and neck with your arms, and crawl under a sturdy table if possible.—
CA Earthquake Bot,
Sacbee.com,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Several of President Donald Trump‘s firings of independent agency heads have made their way through the Supreme Court‘s emergency docket, but Tuesday’s ruling in a federal appeals court likely moves the justices closer to overturning a 90-year precedent on the issue.—
Jack Birle,
The Washington Examiner,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Beat in vanilla and 1 of the eggs until smooth, about 30 seconds, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl.—
Kimberly Holland,
Southern Living,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Although some of this base layer was likely ejected as well, Desch and his colleague Alan Jackson, also of Arizona State University, used simulations to determine that most of the material scraped from the baby Plutos was nitrogen.—
Nola Taylor Tillman,
Space.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The cats kept them up each night with their incessant whining and scratching at their doors.—
Duaa Eldeib,
ProPublica,
10 Sep. 2025
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What itch does that scratch that the rest of this doesn’t?—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Crunch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunch. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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