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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 crunching
Wisconsinites open doors to Ice Age Trail hikers Jean Baker picked Saito up from the trail one afternoon in late October, the fall leaves crunching under their hiking boots.
—
Kelly Meyerhofer, jsonline.com, 4 Nov. 2025
The trailer highlights the series' signature bone-crunching, sword-swinging action alongside glimpses of Tarabay's rags-to-riches Ashur navigating the politics of the elite.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Nov. 2025
After crunching the numbers, Hawaii tops WalletHub's annual ranking of the happiest states in the country.
—Katie Nadworny, Travel + Leisure, 30 Oct. 2025
The machines will run complex experiments that require an immense amount of data-crunching capacity, tackling problems ranging from nuclear power to cancer treatments, officials said Monday.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 30 Oct. 2025
Coaches and statisticians are crunching the HSratings numbers on a weekly basis to make projections.
—Dan Albano, Oc Register, 27 Oct. 2025
The noise of crunching history is audible from the other side of 7-foot construction fencing.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 23 Oct. 2025
After crunching the numbers to exclude armies of data-scraping AI bots, the Wikimedia Foundation says that between March and August this year, the number of Wikipedia page views coming from real humans declined by 8% year-on-year.
—PC Magazine, 18 Oct. 2025
Turns out his co-workers were more focused on crunching numbers than spinning tracks.
—Jessica Coacci, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2025
Kelly Meyerhofer, jsonline.com, 4 Nov. 2025
The trailer highlights the series' signature bone-crunching, sword-swinging action alongside glimpses of Tarabay's rags-to-riches Ashur navigating the politics of the elite.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Nov. 2025
After crunching the numbers, Hawaii tops WalletHub's annual ranking of the happiest states in the country.
—Katie Nadworny, Travel + Leisure, 30 Oct. 2025
The machines will run complex experiments that require an immense amount of data-crunching capacity, tackling problems ranging from nuclear power to cancer treatments, officials said Monday.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 30 Oct. 2025
Coaches and statisticians are crunching the HSratings numbers on a weekly basis to make projections.
—Dan Albano, Oc Register, 27 Oct. 2025
The noise of crunching history is audible from the other side of 7-foot construction fencing.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 23 Oct. 2025
After crunching the numbers to exclude armies of data-scraping AI bots, the Wikimedia Foundation says that between March and August this year, the number of Wikipedia page views coming from real humans declined by 8% year-on-year.
—PC Magazine, 18 Oct. 2025
Turns out his co-workers were more focused on crunching numbers than spinning tracks.
—Jessica Coacci, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crunching
Verb
-
Instead of pursuing chances to pitch reboots of Hollywood’s most beloved properties, scraping the bottom of the barrel might afford you more opportunities to make films that truly feel your own.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
7 Nov. 2025
-
There’s a lot of concern among professionals across the creative and media industries that generative AI tools are essentially stealing their work by scraping content available on the Internet.—
Diana Lodderhose,
Deadline,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
The Dallas Cowboys have made some head-scratching moves in 2025 dating back to the preseason, which have both strengthened the interior of the defensive line but also added confusion about the future of the unit.—
Max Dible,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
-
Many see Horton as only just scratching the surface.—
Sahadev Sharma,
New York Times,
11 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Crunching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunching. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share