crunchy

American  

[kruhn-chee] / ˈkrʌn tʃi /

adjective

crunchier, crunchiest

1. crisp; brittle.

2. Slang. crunchy-granola.

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Other Word Forms

• crunchily adverb
• crunchiness noun

Etymology

Origin of crunchy

First recorded in 1890–95; crunch + -y ¹

Explanation

When you bite into something crunchy, its brittleness makes a distinct, crisp sound. There's nothing like munching your way through a bag of crunchy potato chips. There's a delightful crispness to crunchy things, whether you're eating raw carrots, tortilla chips, or toasted almonds. While most crunchy items are edible, you can also use the word to describe things that make a similar crisp, crackling sound — think of jumping into a pile of crunchy leaves. An informal meaning, "environmentally liberal" or "hippie," comes from the phrase "crunchy granola" and the implication that nature lovers enjoy healthy foods like granola.

Example Sentences

A huge shipment of Nestle's crunchy KitKat chocolate bars was stolen in Europe, the brand said, warning that the heist risked causing shortages in stores right before Easter.

From Barron's • Mar. 28, 2026

Titled Eins, Zwei, Drei, it's an overstuffed sandwich of a song - full of chanted hooks and crunchy keyboards that deliberately avoids the polished pop of previous entries.

From BBC • Mar. 6, 2026

You don’t have to do much other than replace your normal Hellmann’s mayo and Dijon mustard with a bottle of Ayoh and all of a sudden you have a crunchy dill pickle-flavored turkey sandwich.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

“After all, you still have to have your crunchy fries, right?”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 8, 2025

Like, maybe a chocolate peanut butter cupcake with Cocoa Pebbles in the batter, so when you bit into the finished cupcake, you’d get crunchy bits.

From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks