crunch
Americanverb (used with object)
-
crunches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
crunched,
past participle, past
-
crunching
present participle
-
to crush with the teeth; chew with a crushing noise.
-
to crush or grind noisily.
-
to tighten or squeeze financially.
The administration's policy seems to crunch the economy in order to combat inflation.
verb (used without object)
-
crunches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
crunched,
past participle, past
-
crunching
present participle
-
to chew with a crushing sound.
-
to produce, or proceed with, a crushing noise.
noun
-
crunches
plural
-
an act or sound of crunching.
-
a shortage or reduction of something needed or wanted.
the energy crunch.
-
distress or depressed conditions due to such a shortage or reduction.
a budget crunch.
-
a critical or dangerous situation.
When the crunch comes, just do your best.
idioms
verb
-
to bite or chew (crisp foods) with a crushing or crackling sound
-
to make or cause to make a crisp or brittle sound
the snow crunched beneath his feet
noun
-
the sound or act of crunching
-
short for abdominal crunch
-
informal the critical moment or situation
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
crunchsimple
-
crunchessimple
-
have crunchedperfect
-
has crunchedperfect
-
am crunchingprogressive
-
are crunchingprogressive
-
is crunchingprogressive
-
have been crunchingperfect progressive
-
has been crunchingperfect progressive
Past
-
crunchedsimple
-
had crunchedperfect
-
was crunchingprogressive
-
were crunchingprogressive
-
had been crunchingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of crunch
Explanation
When you crunch something, you grind it into tiny pieces, often with your teeth. You can also crunch whole spices into smaller bits with a mortar and pestle. A horse might crunch an apple, and on a summer day you might drink a glass of iced tea and crunch the ice between your teeth. You could also describe the sound of gravel underneath the wheels of a car or feet walking in fresh snow as a crunch. A figurative crunch is a deadline or crisis: "When it came to the crunch, I just voted for the person who would do the least harm."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Eddy says the current cost-of-living crunch feels like “death by a thousand cuts” to consumers.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
Like other Swedish candies, they contain no gelatin, giving them a lightweight texture with the slightest sugary crunch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
Brown was there to broker a deal to rent computing power after the explosive success of Anthropic’s Claude Code created a capacity crunch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
Some days undoubtedly call for acid, salt and crunch.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
I crunch in, and juice from the veggies and meat bursts in my mouth.
From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio
Here, BBC Scotland crunches the numbers behind that and looks at the potential deeper issues.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
In some instances, rapid growth was fueled by supply crunches and migration trends.
From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026
The man crunches his way toward us, through this snow-covered field and past rows upon rows of identical wooden tombstones, then gestures back in the direction he came from.
From Slate ● Feb. 11, 2026
Porciuncula also weaves in workouts on the deck, such as planks, sit-ups and crunches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 1, 2026
I walk back over to Mama and Charlie, who glares at me and then crunches on a Cheeto.
From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist
BBC Sport has crunched the numbers to assess the potential financial impact on the top flight.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
"Workers are getting crunched right now," he added.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Plaid CFO Seun Sodipo wants her staff to strike up conversations with company leaders about numbers they’ve crunched in the back office—so much so that it’s been a top priority for her rookie year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
The Athletic crunched the numbers and determined that no team in baseball has faced as dramatic an increase in fastball percentage, with the Dodgers seeing that frequency climb steadily since May.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Of course she wasn’t, he thought, making sure she stayed steady as their feet crunched the debris.
From "Time Bomb" by Joelle Charbonneau
Large language models are the technology that underpins chatbots and other AI tools by crunching vast amounts of digital data.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
His campaign didn’t survive, but those problems—tens of thousands of people without housing, costs crunching millions of people with housing, and lagging crisis response—are real.
From Slate ● Jun. 9, 2026
But he went over the limit and slid wide on the entry to Tabac, crunching his right rear wheel against the wall and breaking his rear suspension.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
Navigating around the crater, Al-Ahmad trudged into the blown-out remains of the hall, his feet crunching on an underbrush of glass, wood splinters and insulation.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2026
The image of Baba dressed in a white rabbit suit, front teeth sticking out, crunching a giant carrot swims in front of my eyes.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
