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
Relevance
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
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
Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 29 Apr. 2026
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
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
The whistleblower claims that the museum improperly moved funds between various accounts in order to meet severe cash crunches.
—Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 29 Apr. 2026
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
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
-
Travelers should brace for higher airfares this summer due to looming jet fuel shortages amid the war with Iran.—
Jessica Puckett,
Condé Nast Traveler,
4 May 2026
-
Our economy is suffering too, with critical workforce shortages of teachers and nurses.—
Kaitlyn Schallhorn,
Oc Register,
4 May 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
-
Ford’s freedom or constraints, his prejudices or lacks, gauge his moment and ours.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
30 Apr. 2026
-
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
Noun
-
During a period of intense change across fashion and footwear, many women leaders are at a crossroads.—
Katie Abel,
Footwear News,
4 May 2026
-
And those numbers, combined with Spoelstra’s love/hate relationship with the Adebayo/Ware tandem and his appreciation for undersized lineups, has created difficult questions that must be sorted out during a crossroads offseason for the Heat.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
4 May 2026
Noun
-
Watch all of the day’s events here, including Abel’s first question-and-answer session with insurance chief Ajit Jain, and a panel with the heads of Berkshire’s other businesses.—
Yun Li,Alex Harring,Sarah Min,
CNBC,
2 May 2026
-
Still, Fudd was able to adjust and didn’t pick up a single foul after halftime, and Wings coach Jose Fernandez isn’t concerned about the star guard as Dallas heads into its second preseason game Sunday against the Las Vegas Aces at home.—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
1 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crunches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunches. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
