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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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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
Crisp coleslaw adds crunch and a swipe of Russian dressing offers a sweet note. — Lyndsay C. Green, Freep.com, 9 Sep. 2026 The pickled papaya salad on top lends the loveliest bit of sweet tang and a little crunch. — Rachel Bernhard, jsonline.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Verb
This is a 60-second test that asks the GPU to crunch a lot of polygons in order to tell us how adept the phone might be at gaming. — Eric Zeman, PC Magazine, 24 Aug. 2026 At the January couture shows in Paris, the look was epitomized by Lauren Sánchez Bezos and her devotion to an hourglass silhouette and toe-crunching heels. — Robin Givhan, Vanity Fair, 19 Aug. 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
  • Supporters contend that change-resistant property owners in the Land of Steady Habits are simply trying to ignore the statewide shortage of new housing that isn’t McMansions or high-amenity, high-rent luxury apartments.
    — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Ahead of the talks, Russia had ramped up its attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with relentless bombardments, exploiting Ukraine’s shortage of air defense systems.
    — Chantal Da Silva, NBC news, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of shortage
Noun
  • These micro-drones usually crash in low-visibility crisis zones where dust, smoke, or pitch darkness blinds cameras.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Told in a comic, vibrant tone, this picaresque story follows the very wealthy Taiwanese-Chinese Wang family, who suddenly lose their fortune in the 2008 financial crisis and embark on a California-to-New York road trip, in a final bid for salvation.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of crisis
Verb
  • Bugs Bunny jams himself against the edge and grits his teeth in agony.
    — Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
  • But credit Skubal for gritting it out each time, keeping the Dodgers in those three games against the Chicago Cubs, the Kansas City Royals and Brewers.
    — Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of grit
Noun
  • The ongoing conflict that has driven people from their homes in Iran as well as an internet shutdown and a lack of full cooperation from the two governments partially impeded the team's efforts to get information.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 18 Sep. 2026
  • A lot of the critiques up to this point have been about a lack of fluidity and flow to dancers — people look stiff, this isn’t surprising — but all of that is gone here.
    — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of lack
Noun
  • Mayflies hovering around our heads were bound to attract bats, and bats creep me out.
    — Bryan Hendricks, Arkansas Online, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Sunderland were, according to Transfermarkt, the division’s lowest spenders at £66million, but that lower turnover helped preserve the tactical identity implemented by head coach Regis Le Bris last season.
    — Chris Waugh, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of head
Verb
  • Language models now write clean, fluent messages and can personalize them at scale using details scraped from social media.
    — Pawan Jain, The Conversation, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The clip was an instant hit, reposted and reacted to and viewed and scraped so many times in addition to its original 7 million views on TikTok that its final reach is almost impossible to calculate.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of scrape
Verb
  • Sunderland, of course, spent heavily last season after coming up from the Championship, and there is a broad consensus that promoted teams need to do so to quickly bring their squads up to scratch.
    — Chris Waugh, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • The upstairs neighbors had two mastiffs who were left home all day and who barked incessantly and scratched at the floor of their kennel.
    — Meghan O’Gieblyn, The New York Review of Books, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of scratch

Phrases Containing crunch

Browse Nearby Words

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 19 Sep. 2026.

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