as in crisis
a time or state of affairs requiring prompt or decisive action
with only three minutes left in the game, it was definitely crunch time
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crunch time
Bridges came up with a critical isolation stop in crunch time of the Knicks’ Game 6 elimination win over the Detroit Pistons in last year’s first round.
—
Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 17 Mar. 2026
Friday night, at crunch time, Kel’el Ware mattered.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2026
James broke Abdul-Jabbar’s record for the most career field goals in the regular season against the Denver Nuggets, but an elbow injury limited his contributions in crunch time of a 120-113 loss that ended the Lakers’ three-game winning streak.
—Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Around June of 2025, the team behind Pixar's Hoppers was in the thick of crunch time.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for crunch time
Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 17 Mar. 2026
Friday night, at crunch time, Kel’el Ware mattered.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2026
James broke Abdul-Jabbar’s record for the most career field goals in the regular season against the Denver Nuggets, but an elbow injury limited his contributions in crunch time of a 120-113 loss that ended the Lakers’ three-game winning streak.
—Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Around June of 2025, the team behind Pixar's Hoppers was in the thick of crunch time.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for crunch time
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crunch time
Noun
-
During the financial crisis in spring 2008, then-candidate Barack Obama dismissed his rivals' calls for a federal gas tax suspension.—
Kathryn Watson,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
The fighting has pushed many people into famine, caused a huge displacement crisis and left over 30 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The woman was found with three gunshot wounds to her chest, while the man was shot in the head, police said.—
Tess Kenny,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Apr. 2026
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Another man, a 35-year-old, showed up at Temple Hospital's Episcopal Campus with a gunshot wound to his head, police said.—
Tom Ignudo,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The Kansas City Royals might have reached their breaking point against the Yankees in New York on Saturday.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
18 Apr. 2026
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The tension between engineering and finance reached a breaking point with the 737 MAX as the company tried to compete with Airbus.—
John Pacenti,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Their feud was the focus of tabloid gossip for much of 2025 but reached a boiling point late last year after his wedding.—
Anna Tingley,
Variety,
16 Apr. 2026
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As Bayern celebrated, Madrid’s anger reached a boiling point inside Munich’s Allianz Arena.—
Ben Church,
CNN Money,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The killing has become a flash point in a wider crackdown across the Persian Gulf.—
Elizabeth Robinson,
NBC news,
17 Apr. 2026
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The Salvadoran national’s case has become a flash point in immigration debates after he was mistakenly deported last year and forcibly brought back.—
Travis Loller,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crunch time.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunch%20time. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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