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
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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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crunches
Noun
-
Climate scientists have been calling attention to the snowpack shortages in nearly every region of the West this year.—
Doha Madani,
NBC news,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Her goal is primary care, one of the specialties facing the most severe shortages nationwide.—
Nancy Badertscher,
AJC.com,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Her elegant collaboration was a reminder that the world has long created the kinds of crises that threaten our stability today, and a good artist finds a way to make work that shows us a way through it, even if the answer is as simple as making something beautiful.—
Rachel Tashjian,
CNN Money,
18 Feb. 2026
-
When the walls close in The 2009 timeline finds the friends scattered across separate crises.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
Kgasi makes his way down to one of the vertical surfaces of the pit and scrapes it gently.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
Economic theory would suggest that the best place to make a major investment such as a STAR bond would be in a place that has low, or lacks, economic activity.—
Sofi Zeman
January 21,
Kansas City Star,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Klauss joins a team at an important crossroads.—
Kevin Baxter,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
-
That realization forced a crossroads.—
Abraham Nudelstejer,
Dallas Morning News,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
As the national anthem played following their victories, Smith and Carlos expressed their anger about racial injustice in America by bowing their heads and raising their fists.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Chair-heads are sourcing used Chipotle chairs for their homes—the natural wood and iron look is pretty inoffensive, to be fair.—
Sam Stone,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crunches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunches. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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