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
Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 27 Jan. 2026
The whole thing crunches, melts, zings and primes the taste buds for more.
—Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2026
Though Jackson acknowledged that those time crunches can be stressful, being rude isn't the way to go.
—Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 31 Dec. 2025
Some of the best exercises for a stronger core include crunches, teasers, planks, and body-weight squats.
—Health Editorial Team, Health, 20 Dec. 2025
Once empty, the entire floor crunches down to just three feet, so that the vehicle can be towed to its next location.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 18 Dec. 2025
The EmSculpt Neo, a body sculpting treatment equal to doing 20,000 crunches in just 30 minutes, has been all the rage among celebrities.
—Essence, 5 Dec. 2025
Expect busy terminals, some new features, parking crunches and ongoing renovations.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 26 Nov. 2025
The shutdown has compounded long-standing issues at the Federal Aviation Administration, which has grappled with significant staffing crunches for years.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 26 Oct. 2025
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
Add crab walking into your routine alongside your normal core circuits alongside your crunches or planks.
—Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 27 Jan. 2026
The whole thing crunches, melts, zings and primes the taste buds for more.
—Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2026
Though Jackson acknowledged that those time crunches can be stressful, being rude isn't the way to go.
—Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 31 Dec. 2025
Some of the best exercises for a stronger core include crunches, teasers, planks, and body-weight squats.
—Health Editorial Team, Health, 20 Dec. 2025
Once empty, the entire floor crunches down to just three feet, so that the vehicle can be towed to its next location.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 18 Dec. 2025
The EmSculpt Neo, a body sculpting treatment equal to doing 20,000 crunches in just 30 minutes, has been all the rage among celebrities.
—Essence, 5 Dec. 2025
Expect busy terminals, some new features, parking crunches and ongoing renovations.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 26 Nov. 2025
The shutdown has compounded long-standing issues at the Federal Aviation Administration, which has grappled with significant staffing crunches for years.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 26 Oct. 2025
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
-
Teacher morale is increasingly important as states continue to struggle with teacher shortages, especially in hard-to-fill jobs like special education, science, technology, math, engineering and bilingual education.—
Diana Lambert,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
-
According to Burton, the situation becomes even more complex when educators encounter resource shortages that affect students directly.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Chai Lifeline provides social, emotional and practical assistance to children and their families who are impacted by loss, medical crises and trauma.—
Jessica Tzikas,
Sun Sentinel,
10 Mar. 2026
-
But experts have long said that relying on military forces rather than investing in local policing threatens to worsen already grave security crises.—
Jeronimo Gonzalez,
semafor.com,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
Meyer helped design a tracking system that scrapes data from Zillow to detect price hikes greater than 10%.—
Jack Flemming,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
As of Wednesday, firearms dealers are required under state law to use scanners that pull the prospective purchaser’s name, date of birth and other details from the card’s magnetic strip, which the new design lacks — except if they are authorized otherwise.—
Madison Smalstig,
Sacbee.com,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Each provides amino acids that the other lacks, so eating them together gives you all the essential amino acids.—
Merve Ceylan,
Health,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Several teams around the league appear to be at a crossroads of sorts, and there could be opportunities this summer as a result.—
Arpon Basu,
New York Times,
3 Mar. 2026
-
Davion Mitchell has been here before, the risk-reward crossroads between going full speed, shoulder first through a hard screen or practicing prudence.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Video circulating on social media shows tense moments inside the cabin as passengers were instructed to put their heads down and raise their hands while armed officers entered the plane.—
Milena Malaver,
Miami Herald,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Members of the mother’s group, Walker’s family and advocates, held hands and in unison bowed their heads to listen.—
Mariana Navarrete Villegas,
Hartford Courant,
7 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crunches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunches. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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