munch
verb (used with object)
to chew with steady or vigorous working of the jaws, often audibly.
munch
1 American
[muhnch]
/ mʌntʃ /
verb (used with object)
-
munches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
munched,
past participle, past
-
munching
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
munches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
munched,
past participle, past
-
munching
present participle
noun
verb phrase
Munch
2
American
[moongk]
/ mʊŋk /
noun
Münch
3
American
[my nsh]
/ münʃ /
noun
Munch
1
British
/ mʊŋk /
noun
munch
2
British
/ mʌntʃ /
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
munchsimple
-
munchessimple
-
have munchedperfect
-
has munchedperfect
-
am munchingprogressive
-
are munchingprogressive
-
is munchingprogressive
-
have been munchingperfect progressive
-
has been munchingperfect progressive
Past
-
munchedsimple
-
had munchedperfect
-
was munchingprogressive
-
were munchingprogressive
-
had been munchingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of munch
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English monchen, variant of mocchen; of imitative origin
Explanation
To munch is to eat something in a loud and enthusiastic way. If you can't stand listening to your brother munch his toast in the morning, you might decide to take your breakfast to go. When you eat something steadily, especially if it's something crunchy, you munch. You might munch on carrot sticks for a snack and then munch a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. You can also take a munch, or a bite, out of something. Munch is an imitative word, its sound echoing the actual sound of munching, but it may also have a connection to the Old French mangier, "to bite or chew."
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:
James Bond creator Ian Fleming has a character munch on a Gentleman’s Relish sandwich in his book “For Your Eyes Only.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
Nearby, a desert tortoise had emerged from its burrow to munch on some grass — a rare sight that elicited a whoop of joy from Wilcox.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026
Kaldvee was slack again upon the resumption and Mouat - fuelled by an interval munch of mango - delivered with GB's final stone to extend the advantage to 6-3 with three ends remaining.
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2026
Some visitors at Ueno Zoological Gardens were left teary-eyed as they watched Japan's only two pandas Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao munch on bamboo.
From Barron's ● Jan. 25, 2026
I munch on some of Kenya’s Hot Cheetos.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
Future exhibitions at London's Tate and Oslo's Munch Museum were in development.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
Major names like Edvard Munch are included alongside lesser-known figures such as Emilie Mediz-Pelikan, Léon Spilliaert and Gustav Adolf Mossa.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2025
It still needs a lot of development, according to Mr Munch Smidt-Jensen.
From BBC ● Jan. 20, 2025
I felt like I had stepped into an Edvard Munch painting.
From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2024
"Mr. Munch, why you telling me all this?"
From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds
Past investigations would need to be revisited, Münch said.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2024
The nanofibrils used -- small, needle-like structures -- are based on the EF-C peptide, which was first described in 2013 by Professor Jan Münch from Ulm University and Ulm University Medical Center.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 28, 2024
"Increasing the local concentration and isolating viruses from samples are critical to increasing the sensitivity of diagnosing viral infections," says Professor Münch.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 28, 2024
“Even conservative voters tend to approve of Mr. Scholz,” said Ursula Münch, the director of the Academy for Political Education in Tützing.
From New York Times ● Sep. 12, 2021
It is certainly, however, an anomalous thing that a Protestant sovereign, who at this moment is in conflict with Catholic bishops, is represented in the Confederacy by Herr von Münch....
From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 5 by Hamilton Wright Mabie
She concluded that ZIP7 must be acting somewhere before the proteasome munches up the misfolded protein.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 30, 2024
As she munches on the tea-shop snacks of mooncakes, chestnuts and dried mango, she explains that she wants more than a provincial life.
From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2024
And at one point she grabs an Oreo out of a jar in the kitchen and munches on it while speaking.
From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2023
Talking to Wall now as he munches away at his postgame meal, it’s clear the past few years have humbled him but not dimmed his ultrahigh self-confidence.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 9, 2022
She doesn't even try rescuing books that Chandar munches on.
From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman
More than a decade later, my books still lean toward the seasonal standard: light fiction, breezy memoir, topical advice—the literary equivalent of potato chips munched lazily on the beach.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
At around 1 p.m., a line extended out the door and into the plaza, where many people sipped on the chain’s famous $21 “strawberry glaze” smoothies and munched on $18 prepackaged Thai tofu salads.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026
During her dream bridal shower, Williams and her friends munched on Asian food before partaking in a lip-synch battle.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 29, 2025
The foursome bonded over a frigid river plunge on a canyoneering excursion and munched on homemade “bliss balls,” a snack made from oats, honey and dates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 10, 2025
They all munched for some time in silence.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
Whether you’re having cereal for breakfast or pasta for dinner, you’re munching on flower products.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
On Wednesday morning, Sovereignty was standing upright in his stall munching on hay and showed no obvious discomfort.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2025
Film buffs sit snugly in cars watching a drive-in movie, munching popcorn on a lovely recent fall night.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2025
In a demo, “What ate my grass?” showed rabbits munching in the garden.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2025
I spent hours talking with them in a big circle, munching popcorn and trading our thoughts about college applications, body image, and boys.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
