crunched; crunching; crunches
1
: to chew or press with a crushing noise
2
: to make one's way with a crushing noise
1
: to chew, press, or grind with a crunching sound
2
: process
especially
: to perform mathematical computations on
crunch numbers
plural crunches
1
a
: an act of crunching
ate the cracker in one crunch
b
: a sound made by crunching
The only sound was the crunch of leaves underfoot.
There was a rather loud crunch as I bit into the battered dumplings.—
Fraser Glen
Fraser Glen
c
: the quality of being crunchy : the tendency to make a crunching sound when chewed or pressed
… make sure you have protein, a carbohydrate and a vegetable. You have to have crunch, flavour, salty and sweet in one.—Carla Grossetti
Carla GrossettiTexture is king in this salad, … with added crunch from toasted walnuts.—Eleanor Maidment
Eleanor Maidment2
: a tight or critical situation: such as
a
: a severe economic squeeze (as on credit)
b
: shortage
an energy crunch
a time crunch
c
: a critical point in the buildup of pressure between opposing elements : showdown
… the odd loss at Bankwest, combined with winning virtually nothing on the road, is going to come back to haunt them when the season reaches the crunch.—Scott Pryde
Scott Pryde3
: a conditioning exercise performed from a supine position by raising and lowering the upper torso without reaching a sitting position
Synonyms
Examples of crunch in a Sentence
Verb
We could hear the truck's tires crunching along the gravel road.
When she crunched the numbers, she found that the business's profits were actually much lower than the company had said.
Noun
the crunch of someone eating a carrot
We could hear the crunch of the truck's tires on the gravel road.
The crunch came when the computer stopped working.
Recent Examples on the Web
Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024
Most major media outlets around the country rely on a handful of organizations to crunch the numbers and make race calls.
—Hadas Gold, CNN, 3 Nov. 2024
Jill Schildhouse, Southern Living, 5 Nov. 2024
To avoid a cash crunch and potentially jeopardize the ability to pay people, a marketing agency can set up a separate payroll account to which a percentage of sales can be devoted.
—Vlad Rusz, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for crunch 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
Time and again, however, scientists have crunched the numbers and determined that the 27 Club has more basis in myth than in math.
—Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024
Most major media outlets around the country rely on a handful of organizations to crunch the numbers and make race calls.
—Hadas Gold, CNN, 3 Nov. 2024
Noun
The juxtaposition of that crunch melding with the soft and creamy casserole is pure texture heaven.
—Jill Schildhouse, Southern Living, 5 Nov. 2024
To avoid a cash crunch and potentially jeopardize the ability to pay people, a marketing agency can set up a separate payroll account to which a percentage of sales can be devoted.
—Vlad Rusz, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for crunch
Articles Related to crunch
Dictionary Entries Near crunch
Cite this Entry
“Crunch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crunch. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
crunch
1 of 2 verb1
: to chew, press, or grind with a crushing noise
2
: to move with a crushing sound
crunch
2 of 2 noun1
: an act or sound of crunching
2
: crisis sense 3
the energy crunch
3
: an exercise done by lying on the back and rising up without reaching a sitting position by bending forward at the waist
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share