crunch
Americanverb (used with object)
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to crush with the teeth; chew with a crushing noise.
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to crush or grind noisily.
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to tighten or squeeze financially.
The administration's policy seems to crunch the economy in order to combat inflation.
verb (used without object)
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to chew with a crushing sound.
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to produce, or proceed with, a crushing noise.
noun
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an act or sound of crunching.
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a shortage or reduction of something needed or wanted.
the energy crunch.
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distress or depressed conditions due to such a shortage or reduction.
a budget crunch.
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a critical or dangerous situation.
When the crunch comes, just do your best.
idioms
verb
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to bite or chew (crisp foods) with a crushing or crackling sound
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to make or cause to make a crisp or brittle sound
the snow crunched beneath his feet
noun
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the sound or act of crunching
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short for abdominal crunch
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informal the critical moment or situation
adjective
Other Word Forms
- crunchable adjective
- crunchily adverb
- crunchiness noun
- crunchy adjective
Etymology
Origin of crunch
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.
Tanking used to be the territory of general managers who assembled lackluster rosters, not of coaches who sat healthy players in the crunch time of games.
An electricity capacity crunch has emerged as new artificial-intelligence data centers strain power supplies.
However, the Met Office has crunched the numbers up until 25 February and revealed that southern England has already had its seventh-wettest winter since records began in 1836.
From BBC
Amplifying the crunch in working capital is the Supreme Court ruling Friday that global tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were illegal.
The company likely locked in its memory supply and pricing ahead of the supply crunch, he added.
From MarketWatch
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.
