scrunches

verb

present tense third-person singular of scrunch
1
as in crumples
to create (as by crushing) an irregular mass of creases in scrunched up the shirt and tossed it in the laundry

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in crouches
to lie low with the limbs close to the body the climbers scrunched down on the leeward side of a large boulder and waited for the storm to pass

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in scrapes
to press or strike against or together so as to make a scraping sound scrunched loose gravel with every footstep

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 scrunches Four exercises, including the toe scrunches, to help improve balance. — Lindsey Leake, NBC news, 29 Apr. 2026 The clear formula is lightweight but substantial enough to create a cast that scrunches out softly, leaving hair touchable instead of stiff. — Malia Griggs, Glamour, 30 Sep. 2025 Hiddleston scrunches his eyes a bit at the statement. — Stylecaster Editors, StyleCaster, 22 Aug. 2025 Her nose scrunches up like something smells bad in here. — Nicola Dall'asen, Allure, 19 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrunches
  1. crumples
  2. crouches
  3. scrapes
  4. folds
  5. grits
  6. crunches
Verb
  • My now-husband and I were newly a couple and still working out the kinks and crumples in an evolving relationship.
    — Jessica Chapel, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Jan. 2026
  • The man crumples to the ground while the officer turns to walk away as the other officers stand by.
    — Austin Sanders, Austin American Statesman, 11 Oct. 2025
Definition of crumples
Verb
  • The child folds over and crouches on the ground while the performance continues for several seconds.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 29 July 2026
  • Sometimes a less reliable dog will smell in this manner the hot body scent of venison as a trembling doe crouches close in the brush upwind.
    — Frank C. Hibben, Outdoor Life, 15 July 2026
Definition of crouches
Verb
  • What’s more, the flexible tip scrapes the last bits out of a jar or tub so as little product as possible goes to waste.
    — Sarah Scott, Southern Living, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Therefore, scrapes without a licking branch aren’t repeatedly visited and re-used by the local deer herd.
    — Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of scrapes
Verb
  • An adjustable kickstand that folds out from one panel can support the screen array at a variety of angles.
    — Tony Hoffman, PC Magazine, 26 Sep. 2026
  • The front cupboard hatch door, meanwhile, folds down to access the interior and create another surface for work and storage.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of folds
Verb
  • Bugs Bunny jams himself against the edge and grits his teeth in agony.
    — Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Then the coach known as the most impulsive man on an NFL sideline runs that stop sign, grits his teeth and breaks unbound into character.
    — Michael Silver, New York Times, 16 June 2026
Definition of grits
Verb
  • Each month, Edward Flores crunches the numbers.
    — Los Angeles Times, 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, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Nov. 2025
Definition of crunches

Browse Nearby Words

scrunched
scrunches
scrunching
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Scrunches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrunches. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of regimen

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All