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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crunching
Marx supposedly mulled, crunching the numbers, running down trends.
—
Literary Hub, 16 Dec. 2025
After crunching the data, the researchers found that the most effective way of going off antidepressants and preventing a relapse in depression was doing slow tapering (again, over more than four weeks), combined with therapy sessions.
—Korin Miller, SELF, 12 Dec. 2025
During a Week 13 showdown against the New England Patriots, New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart took a bone-crunching hit along the sideline that sparked a scuffle between both teams.
—Andrew McCarty, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2025
Suddenly everything lurched and spun and came to a crunching halt in a steep bank of trees.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
Earthlings have listened in to the rover's wheels crunching over the Martian surface and the whirring blades of its no-longer-flying helicopter sidekick, Ingenuity.
—Marcia Dunn The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 27 Nov. 2025
To host these models, and serve them quickly to the number-crunching processing units, laptops are increasing their memory capacity and speed.
—IEEE Spectrum, 17 Nov. 2025
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
Literary Hub, 16 Dec. 2025
After crunching the data, the researchers found that the most effective way of going off antidepressants and preventing a relapse in depression was doing slow tapering (again, over more than four weeks), combined with therapy sessions.
—Korin Miller, SELF, 12 Dec. 2025
During a Week 13 showdown against the New England Patriots, New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart took a bone-crunching hit along the sideline that sparked a scuffle between both teams.
—Andrew McCarty, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2025
Suddenly everything lurched and spun and came to a crunching halt in a steep bank of trees.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
Earthlings have listened in to the rover's wheels crunching over the Martian surface and the whirring blades of its no-longer-flying helicopter sidekick, Ingenuity.
—Marcia Dunn The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 27 Nov. 2025
To host these models, and serve them quickly to the number-crunching processing units, laptops are increasing their memory capacity and speed.
—IEEE Spectrum, 17 Nov. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crunching
Verb
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Stokes, who seldom completes a five-Test series these days, had dragged his creaking, aching body through almost five full matches of hard, hot, energy-sapping cricket, like scraping butter over too much bread, but somehow soldiering on.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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Reinforcing Data Risk and Privacy Over the past three years, Jain has been using her skills as part of Meta’s anti-scraping initiative.—
Jason Phillips,
USA Today,
2 Jan. 2026
Verb
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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 best vacuums for hardwood floors have a powerful cleaning performance without scratching or causing damage.—
Terri Williams,
Architectural Digest,
6 Jan. 2026
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That pollen can fill the air, covers cars and cement, and can start noses running, eyes watering and throats scratching.—
Nicole Villalpando,
Austin American Statesman,
5 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crunching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunching. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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