scrunch

American  

[skruhnch, skroonch] / skrʌntʃ, skrʊntʃ /

verb (used with object)

1. to crunch, crush, or crumple.

2. to contract; squeeze together.

   I had to scrunch my shoulders to get through the door.

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verb (used without object)

1. to squat or hunker (often followed bydown ).

noun

1. the act or sound of scrunching.

scrunch British  

/ skrʌntʃ /

verb

1. to crumple, crush, or crunch or to be crumpled, crushed, or crunched

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noun

1. the act or sound of scrunching

Etymology

Origin of scrunch

First recorded in 1815–25; perhaps expressive variant of crunch

Example Sentences

You cook them really quickly in a pan with butter and then scrunch them, which allows for the maple-soy butter to pool in all the little pockets.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

My face would scrunch up and I’d shudder from the intense flavors, but I never cried.

From Salon • Sep. 13, 2025

Since the mid-1960s, microscopists have seen that axons can scrunch up to form beads when they are diseased or under other stress.

From Science Magazine • Dec. 2, 2024

A good way to check if wrapping paper is recyclable, according to Wrap, is the "scrunch test".

From BBC • Dec. 3, 2022

Which makes me scrunch my nose back at her.

From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli