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
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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
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have crunchedperfect
-
has crunchedperfect
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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:
Some days undoubtedly call for acid, salt and crunch.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
“It’s playoff crunch time and so it’s always exciting, especially when you’re team is in it. So I’m excited to see where they do.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Unemployment stayed at 6.4% in August, even with higher interest rates and an energy crunch driven by war in the Middle East.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Although that dynamic will continue to allow Micron to raise prices and become even more profitable, Fairbanks said in a note to clients that the supply crunch will limit near-term growth.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
Her nerves were still as frayed as old rope; every sudden skitter and crunch of leaf underfoot rattled her insides.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
Here, BBC Scotland crunches the numbers behind that and looks at the potential deeper issues.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
We haven’t even gotten to Messi’s generational rival, 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, who’s likely in a hotel gym door somewhere doing repeated upside-down crunches in preparation for Portugal’s opener at 1 p.m.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 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
Gravel crunches loudly under my boots; I can feel its pebbly roughness through my thin soles.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
"Workers are getting crunched right now," he added.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
This week, she crunched the numbers for a couple doing well financially — running two businesses — but is approaching 60, when they wish to retire.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 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
Bethell crunched a breathtaking unbeaten 76 from 46 balls to give the home side a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Suddenly, a rattling truck crunched up the alleyway.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
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
Meanwhile, at ESPN, I was assigned to a behind-the-scenes post crunching stats for college-football coverage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
Scotland again pushed for immediate retaliation, but their momentum was killed when Stuart McCloskey's crunching tackle on Russell turned the ball over in Ireland's favour.
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2026
Without crunching a weed, without rustling a leaf, the robot vanished into the thick foliage.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
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.
