Synonyms of crunch

crunch 1 of 2

noun

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

• shortage
• lack
• deficiency
• deficit
• scarcity
• drought
• pinch
• famine
• paucity
• absence
• poverty
• inadequacy
• dearth
• insufficiency
• failure
• undersupply
• lacuna
• scantiness
• scarceness
• inadequateness
• want
• omission
• necessity
• need
• meagerness
• privation
• poorness
• skimpiness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• abundance
• plenty
• amplitude
• wealth
• sufficiency
• adequacy
• opulence
• plenitude
• surplus
• excess
• oversupply
• surfeit
• overabundance
• copiousness
• bountifulness

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

• crisis
• head
• crossroad(s)
• emergency
• situation
• crunch time
• extremity
• clutch
• breaking point
• boiling point
• flash point
• exigency
• point of no return
• juncture
• conjuncture
• moment of truth
• zero hour
• possibility
• Dunkirk
• predicament
• tinderbox
• milestone
• contingency
• climax
• pinch
• turning point
• condition
• corner
• happening
• impasse
• jam
• pass
• deadlock
• landmark
• hot water
• spot
• stalemate
• scrape
• fix
• last ditch
• last minute
• strait
• hole
• eleventh hour

crunch

2 of 2

verb

ˈkrənch 

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

• grit
• scrape
• scratch
• grind
• creak
• groan
• gnash
• grate
• scrunch
• moan
• whine
• clash
• jar
• collide
• rasp
• jangle

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of crunch

Noun

But the sudden reversal in many of its biggest stock bets, compounded by losses on the other side of its portfolio and the use of leverage, quickly turned into a liquidity crunch. — Yun Li, CNBC, 14 Aug. 2026

And with Giancarlo Stanton (calf strains) and Aaron Judge (fractured rib) expected back after Bellinger, in that order, a potential roster crunch is coming (as well as some reinforcements for a lineup that is in desperate need). — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 14 Aug. 2026

Verb

The situation — buy, sell or both — left Harris crunching the numbers and testing his gut. — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026

Official Win Column Data Friend Rahul Deshpande crunched the pretraining camp roster numbers and found that, prior to Wednesday morning’s QB moves, a full half of Atlanta’s roster has been in the league for at least four seasons. — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 29 July 2026

Phrases Containing crunch

• crunch (on)
• crunch time