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:
The supply crunch for memory and storage components has allowed companies to raise prices and score long-term customer contracts that aim to smooth out the market’s cyclical behavior.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
The goal is to find the perfect viscosity of chocolate on Magnum bars, for the perfect crunch.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 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
But, he argues, it will create a cascade effect: People who move in will vacate other apartment buildings, easing the city’s supply crunch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
He heard the thumping crunch of Momma Bear’s paws in the snow as she loped after him.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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 still want to see the Sistine Chapel,” she says while we walk, her footsteps assertive as she crunches through the snow.
From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott
Shards of glass and porcelain crunched under Vadym's feet as he walked through the remains of his shop.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 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
Commerzbank currency strategists led by Volkmar Baur crunched the numbers on the IPO that’s intended to raise $75 billion at a $1.75 trillion valuation.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 10, 2026
MAG7 stocks are getting crunched, with Apple down 4% and Nvidia losing 3.6%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
The snow was crisp, and their boots crunched loudly.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
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
They walked in silence through the darkness of the evening, boots crunching on the road.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
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.
