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credit crunch

British  

noun

  1. informal a period during which there is a sudden reduction in the availability of credit from banks and other lenders

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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As nervousness spread, even banks eventually stopped lending to each other for fear of not getting their money back, creating a so-called "credit crunch".

From BBC Apr. 28, 2026

The credit crunch came this year because Medallia’s loans contained provisions requiring Thoma Bravo to invest more in the business if it failed to meet earnings targets.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 24, 2026

Problems in private credit aren’t so widespread as to cause a massive credit crunch and downturn in the economy and markets.

From Barron's Mar. 27, 2026

He warns that a credit crunch or pullback in sentiment such as seen the early 2000s would see a lot of that spending by those companies drop fairly fast.

From MarketWatch Dec. 16, 2025

More frequent are a recession, a slump, a credit crunch, a slowdown, a growth recession and other less exotic variants.

From After the Rain : how the West lost the East by Vaknin, Samuel

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