as in scraping
to press or strike against or together so as to make a scraping sound
I could hear the bicycle gears crunch as I shifted the derailleur
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crunching
As the players compete, their advisors, CPAs, and other professionals are crunching the numbers.
—
Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
Best not to start crunching those numbers.
—Amber Harding Outkick, FOXNews.com, 15 May 2026
Floral shops were crunching Sunday to meet demand here in North Texas.
—Dawn White, CBS News, 10 May 2026
After crunching the numbers, Thelwell says the pub serves 10,000 orders of fish and chips a year.
—Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2026
Instead, Excel eliminated their routine number-crunching tasks and freed up accountants to move into more complex advisory work.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 4 May 2026
Petrovic made an impact early, crunching Nick Foligno against the boards between the benches, leaving Foligno in considerable pain.
—Michael Russo, New York Times, 1 May 2026
Scratch him behind the ears and say Good boy over and over so the horse might tire of hearing it, but Pal never would, crunching his peppermint in sweet victory—even defeat.
—Literary Hub, 30 Apr. 2026
After crunching the numbers, the researchers discovered that 1-standard deviation increase in optimism was linked with a 15 percent lower risk of developing dementia.
—Rob Williams, EverydayHealth.com, 9 Apr. 2026
Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
Best not to start crunching those numbers.
—Amber Harding Outkick, FOXNews.com, 15 May 2026
Floral shops were crunching Sunday to meet demand here in North Texas.
—Dawn White, CBS News, 10 May 2026
After crunching the numbers, Thelwell says the pub serves 10,000 orders of fish and chips a year.
—Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2026
Instead, Excel eliminated their routine number-crunching tasks and freed up accountants to move into more complex advisory work.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 4 May 2026
Petrovic made an impact early, crunching Nick Foligno against the boards between the benches, leaving Foligno in considerable pain.
—Michael Russo, New York Times, 1 May 2026
Scratch him behind the ears and say Good boy over and over so the horse might tire of hearing it, but Pal never would, crunching his peppermint in sweet victory—even defeat.
—Literary Hub, 30 Apr. 2026
After crunching the numbers, the researchers discovered that 1-standard deviation increase in optimism was linked with a 15 percent lower risk of developing dementia.
—Rob Williams, EverydayHealth.com, 9 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crunching
Verb
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Plus, the tilt-head design provides easy access to the bowl, perfect for making ingredient additions, scraping, and adjustments.—
Michele Laufik,
Martha Stewart,
14 May 2026
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Using a flexible bench scraper or hard plastic spatula, fold dough over and onto itself several times, scraping bottom and sides of bowl, to bring together into a mass (dough will feel very wet and sticky).—
Claire Saffitz,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
12 May 2026
Verb
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The director, a graduate of the AFI conservatory, spent two summers growing up gritting his teeth at an all-boys sleepaway sports camp.—
Mia Galuppo,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Dec. 2025
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Bob Donnan / Imagn Images North Carolina and head coach Bill Belichick picked up a second straight ACC win on Saturday, gritting to a 20-15 victory over Stanford in Chapel Hill.—
Justin Williams,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The chance to work with the former Brighton & Hove Albion manager had been a significant draw for many of the players who had joined the club over the previous 18 months, and his abrupt departure left some scratching their heads.—
Tom Williams,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
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For textured handles or seams where grime tends to hide, an old soft toothbrush can help loosen residue without scratching the surface.—
Jessica Safavimehr,
Southern Living,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crunching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunching. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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