scrunch

[ skruhnch, skroonch ]
See synonyms for: scrunchscrunches on Thesaurus.com

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.

verb (used without object)
  1. to squat or hunker (often followed by down).

noun
  1. the act or sound of scrunching.

Origin of scrunch

1
First recorded in 1815–25; perhaps expressive variant of crunch

Words Nearby scrunch

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use scrunch in a sentence

  • The goal should not be to terrify the bejesus out of the public, lest they scrunch their noses and give up.

    Great Weekend Reads | The Daily Beast | February 12, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • She heard his stealthy pads scrunch on the snow the other side of the wall, and then he found the hole.

    Lives of the Fur Folk | M. D. Haviland
  • Behind him there was the scrunch, the grinding roar, of the long line of steel wheels carrying the runaway spoil train.

    The Hero of Panama | F. S. Brereton
  • Then suddenly there was a rush and a roar and a yell of voices--and the scrunch of swiftly applied brakes.

    The Mountebank | William J. Locke
  • They went on like ghostly, silent shadows, only the scrunch of the cones underfoot told of their solidity.

    The Night Riders | Ridgwell Cullum
  • Aspinall obeyed, and next moment was writhing under the “scrunch” which the president in his humour bestowed upon it.

    Follow My leader | Talbot Baines Reed

British Dictionary definitions for scrunch

scrunch

/ (skrʌntʃ) /


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

noun
  1. the act or sound of scrunching

Origin of scrunch

1
C19: variant of crunch

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012