as in crisis
a time or state of affairs requiring prompt or decisive action
with only three minutes left in the game, it was definitely crunch time
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 crunch time
But with the game on the line in crunch time, Anunoby forced a Cunningham mid-range miss, Bridges forced a Cunningham turnover on a drive to the rim, then Anunoby forced another mid-range miss on the game’s final possession.
—
Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 27 Apr. 2025
Senate Republicans are facing crunch time on a long-overdue budget resolution, which has divided their conference over the possibility of cutting Medicaid and adding language to increase the debt ceiling by as much as $5 trillion.
—Alexander Bolton, The Hill, 1 Apr. 2025
Instead, Washington picked up two wins in crunch time thanks to the league’s leading scorer, Brittney Sykes.
—Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 19 May 2025
The Minutemen, who lost a 3-2 thriller to Wayland in the opener, continued to show their improvement in crunch time by taking the next two points on a kill and block from Manuelian.
—Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 12 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for crunch time
Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 27 Apr. 2025
Senate Republicans are facing crunch time on a long-overdue budget resolution, which has divided their conference over the possibility of cutting Medicaid and adding language to increase the debt ceiling by as much as $5 trillion.
—Alexander Bolton, The Hill, 1 Apr. 2025
Instead, Washington picked up two wins in crunch time thanks to the league’s leading scorer, Brittney Sykes.
—Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 19 May 2025
The Minutemen, who lost a 3-2 thriller to Wayland in the opener, continued to show their improvement in crunch time by taking the next two points on a kill and block from Manuelian.
—Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 12 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for crunch time
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crunch time
Noun
-
Tyler's insistence on the latter set the precedent for all future presidential crises.—
Peter Aitken,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Aug. 2025
-
George, the Walter family patriarch, is facing a medical crisis.—
Claire Franken,
TVLine,
30 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
There's always one shot that leaves a golfer shaking his or her head.—
Mike Hutton,
Post-Tribune,
19 July 2017
-
Now, Maineri heads into year 12 with 18 pitchers on his roster, hoping that rising junior Caleb Gilbert and sophomore-to-be Zach Hess will emerge at the top of the pitching rotation.—
John Roach,
NOLA.com,
19 July 2017
Noun
-
In episode five, that difficulty adjusting is evident and reaches a breaking point.—
Lexy Perez,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Aug. 2025
-
By 2016, the backlash had reached a breaking point, and NBC quietly stopped producing the series, per KQED.—
Emily Blackwood,
People.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
And with the 2026 schedule now confirming a ninth signature event, the unsponsored Miami Championship at Trump National Doral, the tension has reached a boiling point.—
Devlina Sarkar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Aug. 2025
-
The debate over how to update Indiana's grid without burdening ratepayers reached a boiling point Aug. 6, when Portage Mayor Austin Bonta said Soliday had sent him a threatening text in response to the mayor's statement about rate increases, which many residents had complained to him about.—
Marissa Meador,
IndyStar,
21 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Abrego Garcia’s case became a flash point in Trump’s immigration crackdown after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March. Venezuelans and immigrants from Afghanistan, Russia, Iran, China and other countries have also been sent to Costa Rica and Panama.—
Juan A. Lozano,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Aug. 2025
-
The union will also be looking to address health and pension issues, a flash point ever since thousands of retirees were kicked off the health plan in 2020, as well as protections against artificial intelligence.—
Gene Maddaus,
Variety,
13 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Crunch time.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunch%20time. Accessed 3 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share