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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of crunches
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
Unlike other common ab exercises, such as crunches and sit-ups, that primarily just work your rectus abdominis (the front-side ab muscles that form a six pack), planks engage multiple core muscles at once.
—Jenny McCoy, Outside, 23 Mar. 2026
Loop-style resistance bands are usable for standing knee tucks, bicycle crunches, side planks, spiderman push-ups and other core exercises.
—Bestreviews, Mercury News, 23 Mar. 2026
Modified crunches can work additional muscle groups.
—Daryl Austin, USA Today, 15 Mar. 2026
Add crab walking into your routine alongside your normal core circuits alongside your crunches or planks.
—Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 27 Jan. 2026
Striking the right balance between rest and preparation can be difficult in time crunches like the one Shanahan currently faces.
—Noah Furtado, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Jan. 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
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
Unlike other common ab exercises, such as crunches and sit-ups, that primarily just work your rectus abdominis (the front-side ab muscles that form a six pack), planks engage multiple core muscles at once.
—Jenny McCoy, Outside, 23 Mar. 2026
Loop-style resistance bands are usable for standing knee tucks, bicycle crunches, side planks, spiderman push-ups and other core exercises.
—Bestreviews, Mercury News, 23 Mar. 2026
Modified crunches can work additional muscle groups.
—Daryl Austin, USA Today, 15 Mar. 2026
Add crab walking into your routine alongside your normal core circuits alongside your crunches or planks.
—Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 27 Jan. 2026
Striking the right balance between rest and preparation can be difficult in time crunches like the one Shanahan currently faces.
—Noah Furtado, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Jan. 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
-
Many started profiting from GLP-1 drugs during widespread shortages.—
Dhruv Khullar,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Anticipating global shortages, both Russia and China have already instituted export bans of certain fertilizers to help ensure ample domestic supplies.—
E.J. Antoni,
Boston Herald,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
For some, the war in Iran has raised urgent questions about how much attention the US can sustain if multiple crises unfold at once.—
Wayne Chang,
CNN Money,
7 Apr. 2026
-
But after economic crises, Orbán came to power by promising prosperity to the rich and poor, said Gábor Scheiring, a former Hungarian lawmaker now teaching at Georgetown University in Qatar.—
SAM McNEIL,
Arkansas Online,
7 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
-
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
-
Creative differences between Levinson and HBO over where to go from this existential crossroads delayed the season even further.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Surely, every generation faces this devastating crossroads of actual adulthood.—
Annah Feinberg,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Too many department heads are cronies, not experienced experts.—
Hal Valderhaug,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Peach heads for the Galaxy Gateway with Toad (Keegan-Michael Key), while Mario, Luigi and their new dino pal Yoshi (Donald Glover) hold things down with the ‘shrooms … for a while anyway.—
Katie Walsh,
Twin Cities,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crunches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunches. Accessed 10 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
