crunches 1 of 2

plural of crunch

crunches

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of crunch
as in scrapes
to press or strike against or together so as to make a scraping sound I could hear the bicycle gears crunch as I shifted the derailleur

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of crunches
Noun
That’s not the case for many other ab exercises, such as crunches, which tend to target only one area. — Christa Sgobba, HEALTH, 17 Sep. 2026 The measure would seek to bridge that timing gap for districts facing cash crunches. — Sacbee.com, 14 Sep. 2026 Other teams have had 40-man crunches like this before, which is why the Rays traded Brett Wisely to the Giants in November 2022. — Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026 The snow crunches under my feet, sifts from trailside pine boughs. — Brian Laidlaw, Longreads, 1 Sep. 2026 That gap is exactly why so many otherwise successful companies hit cash crunches, stall out during growth or make decisions based on lagging information. — Loran Armstrong, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026 Both Boeing and Airbus have been plagued by supply crunches following the Covid-19 pandemic, and have struggled to meet demand for new aircraft from customers. — Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 20 July 2026 The mom of one, who shares her son with husband Florian, has been sharing videos on TikTok of her workout classes with Levi, where she can be seen doing push presses and crunches with her little one. — Georgia Slater, PEOPLE, 17 July 2026 Many Asian countries, especially in South and Southeast Asia, that rely on Middle Eastern energy and fertilizer supplies, have faced fuel crunches and higher prices for household goods and food in the past three months. — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 19 June 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
  • The head of the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association said consumers likely will face shortages and additional price increases this fall and winter.
    — Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Settler attacks damaged or seized about 160 Palestinian water and sanitation structures this year, deepening shortages that are forcing farmers to abandon fields and threatening local livelihoods.
    — Melanie Lidman, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • When the previous coalition came to power in 2025, Bolojan was sworn in with the aim of ending one of Romania’s worst political crises in its post-Communist history and reducing a massive budget deficit.
    — Stephen McGrath, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The report concludes that resilience must become a core strategic priority rather than a reactive response to crises.
    — Mitch New, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • What’s more, the flexible tip scrapes the last bits out of a jar or tub so as little product as possible goes to waste.
    — Sarah Scott, Southern Living, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Therefore, scrapes without a licking branch aren’t repeatedly visited and re-used by the local deer herd.
    — Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 10 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Tasked with shepherding his major stars through bombastic performances, Fern’s directing lacks focus.
    — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 14 Sep. 2026
  • While Verse and Alex Wright will man the edges and Denzel Ward remains an elite anchor in the secondary, the front seven lacks proven game-disrupting star power, leaving the defense reliant on scheme and discipline to hold up.
    — David Troy OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Obsession follows a socially awkward young man named Bear, who finds himself at a crossroads when his wish to win the heart of his longtime crush takes on frighteningly possessive consequences.
    — Mariam Bagdady, Vogue, 29 Sep. 2026
  • This year’s event arrives amid surging hopes but lingering anxieties for an African industry at a crossroads.
    — Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 28 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Bugs Bunny jams himself against the edge and grits his teeth in agony.
    — Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Then the coach known as the most impulsive man on an NFL sideline runs that stop sign, grits his teeth and breaks unbound into character.
    — Michael Silver, New York Times, 16 June 2026
Noun
  • The heads of the three leading artificial intelligence labs called for slowing down how fast AI models improve, and chipmakers took the hit.
    — Tony Zhang, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Other East African countries – Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and Tanzania – sent heads of delegation to represent their heads of state at the ceremony.
    — Evelyne Musambi, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Crunches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunches. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster