crunch

1 of 2

verb

ˈkrənch 

crunched; crunching; crunches

intransitive verb

1

: to chew or press with a crushing noise

2

: to make one's way with a crushing noise

transitive verb

1

: to chew, press, or grind with a crunching sound

2

: process

especially : to perform mathematical computations on

crunch numbers

crunchable

ˈkrən-chə-bəl 

adjective

crunch

2 of 2

noun

plural crunches

1

a

: an act of crunching

ate the cracker in one crunch

b

: a sound made by crunching

The only sound was the crunch of leaves underfoot.

There was a rather loud crunch as I bit into the battered dumplings.

—Fraser Glen

c

: the quality of being crunchy : the tendency to make a crunching sound when chewed or pressed

… make sure you have protein, a carbohydrate and a vegetable. You have to have crunch, flavour, salty and sweet in one.

—Carla Grossetti

Texture is king in this salad, … with added crunch from toasted walnuts.

—Eleanor Maidment

2

: a tight or critical situation: such as

a

: a severe economic squeeze (as on credit)

b

: shortage

an energy crunch

a time crunch

c

: a critical point in the buildup of pressure between opposing elements : showdown

… the odd loss at Bankwest, combined with winning virtually nothing on the road, is going to come back to haunt them when the season reaches the crunch.

—Scott Pryde

3

: a conditioning exercise performed from a supine position by raising and lowering the upper torso without reaching a sitting position

Synonyms

Verb

• gnash
• grate
• grind
• grit
• scrape
• scrunch

Noun

• dearth
• deficiency
• deficit
• drought
• drouth
• failure
• famine
• inadequacy
• inadequateness
• insufficiency
• lack
• lacuna
• paucity
• pinch
• poverty
• scantiness
• scarceness
• scarcity
• shortage
• undersupply
• want

Examples of crunch in a Sentence

Verb

We could hear the truck's tires crunching along the gravel road.

When she crunched the numbers, she found that the business's profits were actually much lower than the company had said.

Noun

the crunch of someone eating a carrot

We could hear the crunch of the truck's tires on the gravel road.

The crunch came when the computer stopped working.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Each of the bills' sponsors agreed to kill their proposals in initial committee votes in recent days, amid uncertain support and a crunching end-of-session calendar. —Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 29 Apr. 2025

ZipRecruiter crunched the numbers on the top fields, and the most common job title in that field, where soon-to-be grads are most likely to earn $100,000 or more right after graduation, based on job postings and their typical salary ranges for 2025 so far. —Jennifer Liu, CNBC, 23 Apr. 2025

Noun

Three major factors are driving the current talent crunch: 1. —Shawn Cole, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025

At the beginning of January, the Los Angeles Dodgers were facing a roster crunch, and the Reds traded for Lux. —C. Trent Rosecrans, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

alteration of craunch

First Known Use

Verb

1706, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

1832, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing crunch

• big crunch
• crunch on
• crunch (the) numbers
• crunch time
• the crunch

Rhymes for crunch

• brunch
• bunch
• chinch
• hunch
• lunch
• punch
• keypunch

Kids Definition

crunch

1 of 2 verb

ˈkrənch 

1

: to chew, press, or grind with a crushing noise

2

: to move with a crushing sound

crunch

2 of 2 noun

1

: an act or sound of crunching

2

: crisis sense 3

the energy crunch

3

: an exercise done by lying on the back and rising up without reaching a sitting position by bending forward at the waist