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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of crunches
Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2025
Supply-chain crunches slowed key technologies.
—Justin Worland, Time, 23 Sep. 2025
Colorado policymakers, after several flush years following the pandemic, have faced a series of fiscal crunches over the past year.
—Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
After the Fed’s 2008–2009 cuts, many small businesses expanded aggressively, only to face cash crunches.
—Joseph Lustberg, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Time crunches led the team of four — including production assistant Chaandmon Croft — to streamline the pilot process so other departments could quickly work with material amassed between takes that could start and restart from various points in a song.
—Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2025
Once your body fat decreases, strengthening your abs with exercises like planks and crunches will make your body look more defined.
—Sherri Gordon, Health, 28 Aug. 2025
But composability also means the failure of one key protocol can rapidly cascade through many others, creating a chain reaction of liquidity crunches or asset collapses.
—Mark R. Weaver, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
But Wayne Winegarden, senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute, a Pasadena think tank that espouses free-market solutions to policy matters, criticized the report, saying the recommendations would cost billions when California faces chronic annual budget crunches.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Aug. 2025
Noun
During times of stress, sudden retail redemptions could force asset sales at discounts, triggering liquidity crunches and pricing shocks in what have generally been stable markets.
—Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2025
Supply-chain crunches slowed key technologies.
—Justin Worland, Time, 23 Sep. 2025
Colorado policymakers, after several flush years following the pandemic, have faced a series of fiscal crunches over the past year.
—Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
After the Fed’s 2008–2009 cuts, many small businesses expanded aggressively, only to face cash crunches.
—Joseph Lustberg, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Time crunches led the team of four — including production assistant Chaandmon Croft — to streamline the pilot process so other departments could quickly work with material amassed between takes that could start and restart from various points in a song.
—Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2025
Once your body fat decreases, strengthening your abs with exercises like planks and crunches will make your body look more defined.
—Sherri Gordon, Health, 28 Aug. 2025
But composability also means the failure of one key protocol can rapidly cascade through many others, creating a chain reaction of liquidity crunches or asset collapses.
—Mark R. Weaver, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
But Wayne Winegarden, senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute, a Pasadena think tank that espouses free-market solutions to policy matters, criticized the report, saying the recommendations would cost billions when California faces chronic annual budget crunches.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crunches
Noun
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Additionally, the report found that 47% of companies looked to automating or implementing new technologies to address worker shortages, a five percentage point increase from 2024.—
Anna Kleiber,
jsonline.com,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Management later confirmed the closures, citing power and gas shortages, as well as insufficient purchase orders.—
Mayu Saini,
Sourcing Journal,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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His latest protest fits into his activism against war and follows previous arrests for disrupting Senate hearings over Gaza and domestic health crises.—
Brendan Cole,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
-
The oppressive rule has led to nations cutting off aid, leading to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The product scrapes the insect, removing oils and fats from the outside of the insect's body.—
Maria Morava,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
-
The spiral layer also provides a deeper exfoliation that scrapes off dead cells, resulting in smoother, silkier skin.—
Stephanie Osmanski,
Better Homes & Gardens,
20 Aug. 2025
Noun
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This absence — of God, of love, of plain community spirit — is a metaphor for the whole parish, where everyone is defined by their own lacks and deficiencies, the weaknesses that cause Wicks to despise them and vow to bring down them all.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
6 Sep. 2025
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But Davies’s film has a patience and lightness of touch that Scorsese’s lacks, as well as a note-perfect lead in Gillian Anderson.—
Elle Carroll,
Vulture,
11 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Our institutions – businesses, universities, and society – stand at this crossroads.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
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That geography has long placed the Central Asian nation at a crossroads, straddling both Europe and Asia.—
Nina Subkhanberdina,
CNN Money,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
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By December, Seattle taxpayers were paying a hefty $4,200 a month per empty room — at a time when thousands of Seattleites were without a roof over their heads.—
Ashley Hiruko,
ProPublica,
6 Oct. 2025
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The rounded piston heads, slotted into a rounded chamber to match, offered higher efficiency with less energy lost to heat while fuel is combusted before being sent out as exhaust.—
Liam Rappleye,
USA Today,
6 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Crunches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunches. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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