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
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
Ellis came up with some big plays during crunch time Tuesday.
—Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2026
In crunch time, a boda boda or tuk-tuk can be the quickest means of dashing between venues in Lagos, Nairobi, Kampala, or Kigali.
—Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 25 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for crunch time
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
Ellis came up with some big plays during crunch time Tuesday.
—Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2026
In crunch time, a boda boda or tuk-tuk can be the quickest means of dashing between venues in Lagos, Nairobi, Kampala, or Kigali.
—Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 25 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for crunch time
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crunch time
Noun
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South Korea still plans to phase out use of coal, but the recent moves could outlast the crisis, Kim said.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
25 Mar. 2026
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The carrier recently parked 20 aircraft in Teruel Airport in Spain, a site typically used for long-term storage in crisis periods like the Covid-19 pandemic.—
Glenn Taylor,
Sourcing Journal,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Be sure to cover your head and neck with your arms, and crawl under a sturdy table if possible.—
CA Earthquake Bot,
Sacbee.com,
25 Mar. 2026
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Four younger men were tied up, with black bags covering their heads, and taken to a helicopter, the complaint said.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
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That new evidence was the breaking point for Disney, and one wonders if that’ll reverberate through the ailing Bachelor franchise, which was supposed to have a fresh new star in Paul from one of Disney’s more recently popular reality series.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
19 Mar. 2026
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Separate research has shown that half of workers are at breaking point right now.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Inside these trains, natural gas is purified and cooled to about –260 degrees Fahrenheit (–162 degrees Celsius), below the boiling point of methane.—
Stephanie Pappas,
Scientific American,
23 Mar. 2026
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For many in the sport, frustrations are at an all-time boiling point.—
Chris Marshall-Bell,
New York Times,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In the years since, gun control has continued to be a flash point, but there have been moves in the right direction.—
Kamye Hugley,
Sun Sentinel,
22 Mar. 2026
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Artificial intelligence — which has been a flash point among creatives in Hollywood — has also been a talking point among the academy and its members.—
Rebecca Keegan,
NBC news,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crunch time.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunch%20time. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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