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
Relevance
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
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
Sydney Lake, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2025
Applebee's is offering a free entrée from a special menu (classic bacon cheeseburger, 6-ounce top sirloin, chicken tenders, double crunch shrimp, Fiesta lime chicken, oriental chicken salad or three‑cheese chicken penne) to active and retired military service members.
—Gege Reed, Louisville Courier Journal, 5 Nov. 2025
Katie Nadworny, Travel + Leisure, 30 Oct. 2025
The machines will run complex experiments that require an immense amount of data-crunching capacity, tackling problems ranging from nuclear power to cancer treatments, officials said Monday.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 30 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crunch
Noun
Nantucket residents voted to preserve their right to rent properties to short-term visitors, capping years of acrimony on the Massachusetts island over how to balance its tourism economy with a housing crunch.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2025
Applebee's is offering a free entrée from a special menu (classic bacon cheeseburger, 6-ounce top sirloin, chicken tenders, double crunch shrimp, Fiesta lime chicken, oriental chicken salad or three‑cheese chicken penne) to active and retired military service members.
—Gege Reed, Louisville Courier Journal, 5 Nov. 2025
Verb
After crunching the numbers, Hawaii tops WalletHub's annual ranking of the happiest states in the country.
—Katie Nadworny, Travel + Leisure, 30 Oct. 2025
The machines will run complex experiments that require an immense amount of data-crunching capacity, tackling problems ranging from nuclear power to cancer treatments, officials said Monday.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 30 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crunch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crunch
Noun
-
When staffing shortages occur, the FAA will reduce the flow of air traffic to maintain safety.—
Joe Edwards,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Flights are being delayed and cancelled across the country because of airport staffing shortages.—
Chantelle Lee,
Time,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Daisy Jones & the Six chronicles the rise and fall of a group fronted by two charismatic lead singers—Daisy Jones and Billy Dunne—and their journey from obscurity to fame, complete with romantic tensions, personal crises, and drug problems.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Climate crisis supercharging typhoons The western Pacific is the most active tropical basin on Earth but global ocean temperatures have been at record levels for each of the last eight years.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Bob Donnan / Imagn Images North Carolina and head coach Bill Belichick picked up a second straight ACC win on Saturday, gritting to a 20-15 victory over Stanford in Chapel Hill.—
Justin Williams,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
-
The Buccaneers quarterback has been showcasing some toughness and grit through his own injury scares, and also leading the team to gutsy fourth-quarter comebacks.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Despite his lack of coaching experience at the MLB level, Vitello was named manager of the San Francisco Giants last month.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Part of the reason why there are so few of these conversations about podcasting is a general lack of criticism for narrative audio.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 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,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Experts say many multinational firms are adopting dual leadership models, where global business unit heads in India co-own strategy and product outcomes with their counterparts at headquarters.—
Priyanka Salve,
CNBC,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Tips To Keep Your Dishwasher Clean Longer First and foremost, scrape those dishes.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Some 65% of the nonprofit’s most server-straining traffic now comes from bots, some of which scrape the site to feed into chatbots for training.—
Harry Booth,
Time,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The Dallas Cowboys have made some head-scratching moves in 2025 dating back to the preseason, which have both strengthened the interior of the defensive line but also added confusion about the future of the unit.—
Max Dible,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
-
Gratitude hardly scratches the surface.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
11 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Crunch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunch. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share