1
as in shortages
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in crises
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
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Recent Examples of crunches
Matt Donnelly, Variety, 16 Apr. 2026
Small Dining and Kitchen Solutions Kitchens and dining areas are where space crunches hit hardest.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Sacbee.com, 14 Apr. 2026
And if investing in equipment isn’t an option, bodyweight exercises like squats, push-ups, lunges, crunches and planks engage multiple muscle groups and can be adapted for any fitness level.
—Daryl Austin, USA Today, 11 Apr. 2026
Freeing up those funds traditionally allows the budget team more flexibility during fiscal crunches.
—Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 9 Apr. 2026
Somalia joins other African nations seeking to increase oil exports — Nigeria’s Dangote refinery boosted its output this week, and other countries are stepping up refinement — which should reduce risks of future regional energy crunches.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 7 Apr. 2026
During supply crunches like this one, oil importers compete for any available barrels, driving the price higher for whomever wants or needs them them the most, noted Dan Pickering, founder and chief investment officer at Pickering Energy Partners.
—David Goldman, CNN Money, 6 Apr. 2026
The most recent budget crunches have been characterized by the majority Democrats as a battle against a structural deficit exacerbated by the constraints of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.
—Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 5 Apr. 2026
That's not the case for many other ab exercises, such as crunches, which tend to target only one area.
—Christa Sgobba, Health, 3 Apr. 2026
Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2026
Energage administers an employee survey that covers 26 factors and then crunches the feedback data and scores companies based on the responses.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Nov. 2025
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), the nonpartisan budget watchdog that regularly crunches numbers on policy impacts on the $38 trillion national debt, included $50 billion as one estimate in a series of projections published in early November.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 24 Nov. 2025
Each year, Google crunches the numbers to identify the items that were highly searched, newly searched, or trending for a period of time from May to September.
—Averi Baudler, PEOPLE, 4 Nov. 2025
Nguyen Nik Bonitto shoves the Jets' left tackle back into Justin Fields and Zach Allen crunches him from the interior on that third-down floater.
—Joe Nguyen, Denver Post, 12 Oct. 2025
The website then crunches the numbers to see if your toilet paper stash will be enough to last the full length of the specified quarantine.
—Michael Dobuski, ABC News, 27 Mar. 2020
Noun
In between glistening, shirtless crunches and sexy dalliances, Crown’s motives become clearer.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 16 Apr. 2026
Small Dining and Kitchen Solutions Kitchens and dining areas are where space crunches hit hardest.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Sacbee.com, 14 Apr. 2026
And if investing in equipment isn’t an option, bodyweight exercises like squats, push-ups, lunges, crunches and planks engage multiple muscle groups and can be adapted for any fitness level.
—Daryl Austin, USA Today, 11 Apr. 2026
Freeing up those funds traditionally allows the budget team more flexibility during fiscal crunches.
—Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 9 Apr. 2026
Somalia joins other African nations seeking to increase oil exports — Nigeria’s Dangote refinery boosted its output this week, and other countries are stepping up refinement — which should reduce risks of future regional energy crunches.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 7 Apr. 2026
During supply crunches like this one, oil importers compete for any available barrels, driving the price higher for whomever wants or needs them them the most, noted Dan Pickering, founder and chief investment officer at Pickering Energy Partners.
—David Goldman, CNN Money, 6 Apr. 2026
The most recent budget crunches have been characterized by the majority Democrats as a battle against a structural deficit exacerbated by the constraints of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.
—Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 5 Apr. 2026
That's not the case for many other ab exercises, such as crunches, which tend to target only one area.
—Christa Sgobba, Health, 3 Apr. 2026
Verb
Each month, Edward Flores crunches the numbers.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2026
Energage administers an employee survey that covers 26 factors and then crunches the feedback data and scores companies based on the responses.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Nov. 2025
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), the nonpartisan budget watchdog that regularly crunches numbers on policy impacts on the $38 trillion national debt, included $50 billion as one estimate in a series of projections published in early November.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 24 Nov. 2025
Each year, Google crunches the numbers to identify the items that were highly searched, newly searched, or trending for a period of time from May to September.
—Averi Baudler, PEOPLE, 4 Nov. 2025
Nguyen Nik Bonitto shoves the Jets' left tackle back into Justin Fields and Zach Allen crunches him from the interior on that third-down floater.
—Joe Nguyen, Denver Post, 12 Oct. 2025
The website then crunches the numbers to see if your toilet paper stash will be enough to last the full length of the specified quarantine.
—Michael Dobuski, ABC News, 27 Mar. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crunches
Noun
-
But the shortages of Patriot defense systems remain a concern amid reports that the Pentagon is considering diverting advanced defensive weapons earmarked for Ukraine to the Middle East.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2026
-
In 2022, my final year in office, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent fertilizer prices surging several-fold, and farmers across Central America—and around the world—saw production costs spike almost overnight, raising fears of food shortages.—
Carlos Alvarado Quesada,
Fortune,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
But the war is also having a less visible, yet potentially more consequential, impact on some of the world’s other conflicts and crises.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The Biden administration extended TPS for Haiti several times because of economic, health and political crises in the wake of the assassination of its president in 2021.—
Melissa Quinn,
CBS News,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Avery Sullivan, with whom Morris also plays in the country-rock band Fust, keeps loose time on drums, tapping the snare like someone setting down coffee mugs while Libby Rodenbough scrapes out a few melody lines on her fiddle and colors empty spaces with some ghostly tremolo.—
Jayson Greene,
Pitchfork,
1 Apr. 2026
-
To show me, Max reaches a metal pick into a tank of clear water and scrapes a white line that seems to hover in the center of the tank.—
Blair Braverman,
Outside,
3 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Dipping into 2027 draft capital to make a fifth-round selection in a draft that Schneider has repeatedly said lacks depth is a surprising move.—
Michael-Shawn Dugar,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Industrial composting sites—big, regionalized facilities that can churn out large volumes of organic waste—are designed to speed up the composting process using heat, moisture, and carbon control, things that a simple countertop compost container lacks.—
Francesca Krempa,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Consider the other teams that, like the Mets, have high expectations and have swiftly reached a crossroads.—
Tim Britton,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Rabat is a cultural crossroads where books help transmit knowledge and the arts in all their diversity.—
Connor Sturges,
Condé Nast Traveler,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The event included the greeting of heads of delegation and the traditional family photo, ahead of the start of the leadersâ meeting.—
Armando Regil Velasco,
FOXNews.com,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Tolle showed off his renowned 99 mph fastball while mixing in an improved arsenal of secondary pitches, and the Yankees couldn’t make heads or tails of him the first time through the order.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crunches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunches. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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