munch

verb

ˈmənch 

munched; munching; munches

transitive verb

: to eat with a chewing action

many a mouthful is munched in private

—Washington Irving

also : to snack on

drank coffee and munched homemade cookies

—Lady Bird Johnson

intransitive verb

: to eat or chew something

also : snack

—usually used with on

muncher noun

Examples of munch in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Black swallowtail caterpillars will happily munch on the ferny foliage. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 15 Apr. 2025

Trees like Texas ebony and mesquite that have thorns to protect them from munching animals and long roots to tap moisture deep within the earth. —Laura Mallonee, Wired News, 12 Apr. 2025

While the cow munches on treats, the Astronaut monitors her milk output, collecting data on 32 parameters, including indicators of the quality of the milk and the health of the cow. —IEEE Spectrum, 1 Apr. 2025

These communities exploded during the pandemic, as people stuck at home turned to reels of the animals munching on bamboo. —Mara Hvistendahl, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English monchen, probably of imitative origin

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for munch

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

Kids Definition

munch

verb

ˈmənch 

: to eat with a chewing action

also : to snack on

munched popcorn and watched a movie

muncher noun

Biographical Definition

Munch 1 of 2

biographical name (1)

ˈmu̇nch  ˈmᵫnch 

Charles 1891–1968 Alsatian-born conductor

Munch

2 of 2

biographical name (2)

ˈmu̇ŋk 

Edvard 1863–1944 Norwegian painter