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
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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
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
That's not the case for many other ab exercises, such as crunches, which tend to target only one area.
—Christa Sgobba, Health, 3 Apr. 2026
Other Southeast Asian nations face similar energy crunches.
—Anton L. Delgado, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2026
Advice or even just notions—only check email after noon; never do 10 reps of crunches—solidify into absolutism or vanish.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 31 Mar. 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
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
That's not the case for many other ab exercises, such as crunches, which tend to target only one area.
—Christa Sgobba, Health, 3 Apr. 2026
Other Southeast Asian nations face similar energy crunches.
—Anton L. Delgado, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2026
Advice or even just notions—only check email after noon; never do 10 reps of crunches—solidify into absolutism or vanish.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 31 Mar. 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
-
Because of the war, petroleum shortages have led to jacked up prices at the gas pump, and that has grabbed everyone’s attention.—
Dave Trecker,
The Orlando Sentinel,
19 Apr. 2026
-
California’s housing prices, shortages and challenges are the result of decades of overreach at all levels of state and local government.—
Eliza Terziev,
Oc Register,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Throughout several consecutive years of unprecedented crises, the story follows a movement pushed to its limits.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
21 Apr. 2026
-
There has been intense speculation about the role that mental health crises might have played in both shootings.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
21 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
-
Cinch doesn't have many add-on options available, which means customization lacks.—
Caroline Ernst,
USA Today,
9 Apr. 2026
-
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
Noun
-
For centuries, these islands have been at the crossroads of empires, trade routes and cultures.—
Adam Pourahmadi,
CNN Money,
22 Apr. 2026
-
The multitude of water managers tasked with overseeing the drying Colorado River system stand at a dire crossroads.—
Elise Schmelzer,
Denver Post,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The younger two brothers float paper boats in the kitchen sink and Jeremy plays along, sprinkling flour on their heads—but making the kitchen a total mess.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
12 Apr. 2026
-
Ordinary humans like Stephen’s selfish boss are depicted as giant walking eggs, while others are proportioned like bobble heads.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
11 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crunches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunches. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
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