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
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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:
The goal is to find the perfect viscosity of chocolate on Magnum bars, for the perfect crunch.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
But the Lakers would soon become part of the solution to Walter’s cash crunch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Ultimately, it’s a microcosm of a larger battle playing out across Southern California as cities ask existential questions in an effort to solve the housing crunch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
The crunch has been nicknamed "RAMaggedon" after the components called RAM, or "random-access memory".
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
“We’re just on a bit of a time crunch today, Miss Ma’am. This won’t be a regular thing,” Daddy says.
From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone
Here, BBC Scotland crunches the numbers behind that and looks at the potential deeper issues.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
We performed classic moves: squats, crunches, high and low planks and bird dogs, among them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 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
Dry grass crunches under the soles of our sneakers, and a light breeze rustles the leaves of the soaring trees.
From "The Sky at Our Feet" by Nadia Hashimi
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
"Our whole family was in Boston, I don't think we'd all be able to go back, the credit card had been crunched."
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
Google’s Gemini chatbot crunched the numbers for the teams, including the players’ professional statistics and the World Cup match schedules, to predict a “new” tournament winner.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 12, 2026
MAG7 stocks are getting crunched, with Apple down 4% and Nvidia losing 3.6%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
Rashid shook his head, adjusted the bag on his shoulder, and walked across the grass that crunched under his feet.
From "Time Bomb" by Joelle Charbonneau
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
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
XTX Markets, an algorithmic trading firm, is building a $1 billion-plus complex of five AI data centers in Finland to expand its data crunching and model training capabilities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
The Friday morning routine is well underway, with Field Lane pupils crunching percentages.
From BBC ● Mar. 24, 2026
We walked in silence, dry fallen leaves crunching beneath our feet.
From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
