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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crunches
Danielle Zickl, Health, 30 Oct. 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
McGee led me through moves like Pilates 100s, crunches with rows, and full crunches (with my legs extended).
—Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 17 Oct. 2025
No leverage amplifying losses, no management teams making allocation decisions, no complex redemption mechanisms creating liquidity crunches.
—Boaz Sobrado, Forbes.com, 6 Oct. 2025
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
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
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
Experts say a mix of planks and crunches offers the best results for both strength and visible ab tone.
—Danielle Zickl, Health, 30 Oct. 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
McGee led me through moves like Pilates 100s, crunches with rows, and full crunches (with my legs extended).
—Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 17 Oct. 2025
No leverage amplifying losses, no management teams making allocation decisions, no complex redemption mechanisms creating liquidity crunches.
—Boaz Sobrado, Forbes.com, 6 Oct. 2025
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
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
Verb
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
-
At the same time, a currency collapsing under international sanctions, water shortages and recurring power outages have sharpened a sense of crisis across the country.—
Roxana Saberi,
Time,
9 Jan. 2026
-
At El Tejaban Mexican Grill in Richfield, sales have dropped by as much as 50%, forcing reduced hours and staffing shortages.—
WCCO Staff,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
So, why is this country in the midst of one of the greatest humanitarian crises in modern history?—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
6 Jan. 2026
-
But Venezuelans, having endured years of crises, know how to tackle adversity.—
Michael Rios,
CNN Money,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Nobody catches it for week, until someone scrapes customer addresses and posts them online.—
Daniel Fusch,
Ascend Agency,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Injuries can occur when the person scrapes over the rocks.—
Anna Skinner,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
So Vegas has to hope that their forward depth is strong enough to balance out where their star power lacks, relative to other contenders.—
The Athletic NHL,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
-
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
Noun
-
Scott was at a career crossroads.—
Mike Kaye
January 8,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Jan. 2026
-
The country’s democratic movement is at a crossroads.—
Michael Albertus,
The Atlantic,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
So uncompromising as to turn hard heads into soft behinds.—
Marcus Thompson II,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Wiser heads, though, can see that the fraud also robbed funds from those who needed them the most and that rooting out fraud should not be a partisan issue.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crunches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunches. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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