as in crises
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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Recent Examples of crunch times
In crunch times, our duties overlap.
—
Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 18 Apr. 2026
Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 18 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crunch times
Noun
-
Throughout several consecutive years of unprecedented crises, the story follows a movement pushed to its limits.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
21 Apr. 2026
-
There has been intense speculation about the role that mental health crises might have played in both shootings.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In 2001, the crossroads was dramatic.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
15 Apr. 2026
-
With its cast of characters essentially plucked from Fugard’s early life in Port Elizabeth, the play introduces Hally (a stand-in for Fugard) at a crossroads.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The intense temperature and pressure of the impact heated the moon's crust and mantle so much that many of the volatile elements present (volatiles are elements with low boiling points), including potassium, evaporated and escaped into space.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Thermodynamics drives selective recovery The researchers hypothesized that FJH combined with chlorine gas could exploit differences in Gibbs free energy and boiling points to selectively remove non-REE elements from magnet waste.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
One of the flash points in women’s college basketball history unfolded during the 2021 NCAA tournament, when all teams were quarantined in the same bubble in San Antonio for all rounds during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.—
Marisa Ingemi,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Apr. 2026
-
But more potential flash points loom.—
JILL LAWLESS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The younger two brothers float paper boats in the kitchen sink and Jeremy plays along, sprinkling flour on their heads—but making the kitchen a total mess.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
12 Apr. 2026
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Ordinary humans like Stephen’s selfish boss are depicted as giant walking eggs, while others are proportioned like bobble heads.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
11 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crunch times.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunch%20times. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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