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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crunch time
That’s when Canales and Idzik will likely test him in crunch time.
—
Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 18 Sep. 2025
In crunch time, Minnesota finally took a one-point lead on a jumper from Napheesa Collier that silenced the Ballhall faithful.
—Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 18 Sep. 2025
But crunch time in the fourth quarter, with the Vikings down 17-6, McCarthy answered the call.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Pre-snap reads and post-snap adjustments can prove critical in crunch time.
—Michael-Shawn Dugar, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crunch time
Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 18 Sep. 2025
In crunch time, Minnesota finally took a one-point lead on a jumper from Napheesa Collier that silenced the Ballhall faithful.
—Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 18 Sep. 2025
But crunch time in the fourth quarter, with the Vikings down 17-6, McCarthy answered the call.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Pre-snap reads and post-snap adjustments can prove critical in crunch time.
—Michael-Shawn Dugar, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crunch time
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crunch time
Noun
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The revelation immediately erupted into a political crisis, with the head of prisons dismissed and Guatemalans threatening to protest.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
-
By August, Ars reported on cases where ChatGPT's sycophantic behavior had validated users' false beliefs to the point of causing mental health crises, and news of the aforementioned suicide lawsuit hit not long after.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Keith Pelley has had four months now to get a closer glimpse of the day-to-day operations of the Toronto Maple Leafs via close interactions with general manager Brad Treliving and head coach Craig Berube.—
Pierre LeBrun,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
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But Netflix head Bela Bajaria didn’t seem into it.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Snell was able to build a brilliant performance in part because the Dodgers ground the hard-throwing Greene to his breaking point.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
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That’s almost the scale of electricity that Sam Altman and his partners say will be devoured by their next wave of AI data centers—a single corporate project consuming more power, every single day, than two American cities pushed to their breaking point.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Tensions between Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren and the Navajo Nation Council are reaching a boiling point after Nygren appointed an interim Controller — twice — to replace the one who resigned.—
Arlyssa D. Becenti,
AZCentral.com,
10 Oct. 2025
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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
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Nonetheless, migration has become a flash point.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Oct. 2025
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Arrests are taking place all over the Chicago area, but some of the biggest flash points have occurred on the South and West Sides, which are home to many of the city’s largest Black and Latino communities.—
Geraldo Cadava,
New Yorker,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Crunch time.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunch%20time. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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