1
as in shortage
a falling short of an essential or desirable amount or number
a severe energy crunch that resulted in long lines at the gas pumps
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in crisis
a time or state of affairs requiring prompt or decisive action
a player who's always good in a crunch, like when we need a goal to win the soccer match
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crunch
Mac Cerullo, Hartford Courant, 2 Mar. 2025
Glycerin and panthenol keep hair soft, so there’s no crunch or stiffness, just a touchable texture that lasts.
—Siena Gagliano, Allure, 1 Mar. 2025
Jennifer Heimlich, SELF, 24 Feb. 2025
Teams crunched for cap can also pay the Blues to retain some of it since all three retention slots are open.
—Jeremy Rutherford, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crunch
Noun
If there winds up being a roster crunch Hamilton could potentially also bump Romy Gonzalez from the equation, though either Gonzalez or Abraham Toro seems likely to earn a bench spot since the Red Sox don’t have anyone else who could serve as a backup first baseman.
—Mac Cerullo, Hartford Courant, 2 Mar. 2025
Glycerin and panthenol keep hair soft, so there’s no crunch or stiffness, just a touchable texture that lasts.
—Siena Gagliano, Allure, 1 Mar. 2025
Verb
Some are crunched for time, so a harder workout just makes more sense than one that will eat up hours of their day.
—Jennifer Heimlich, SELF, 24 Feb. 2025
Teams crunched for cap can also pay the Blues to retain some of it since all three retention slots are open.
—Jeremy Rutherford, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crunch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crunch
Noun
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And the longer the staffing shortages persist, the longer some ATCs risk exhaustion and burnout.—
Holly Yan,
CNN,
8 Mar. 2025
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Some states are reviving older methods of capital punishment due to drug shortages, even as other states reconsider them entirely.—
Hannah Parry,
Newsweek,
8 Mar. 2025
Noun
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As the government scrambles, President Evelyn Mitchell (Angela Bassett) enlists former President George Mullen (Robert De Niro) to lead a crisis response team dubbed the Zero Day Commission.—
Gordon G. Chang,
Newsweek,
4 Mar. 2025
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The agency, along with the region’s other transit agencies, is facing a looming financial crisis once federal COVID-19 relief funding runs out in 2026 and has been pushing for more public money.—
Sarah Freishtat,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Mar. 2025
Verb
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After a bear threatened the safety of her grandson, Jane Fonda gritted her teeth and threatened it right back!—
Bailey Richards,
People.com,
5 Mar. 2025
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Instead of attempting to channel the Oakland icon by outscoring the Wildcats in a high-tempo affair with the Oakland Athletic League title on the line, Oakland Tech gritted out a stop-and-start 60-50 victory on Wednesday night.—
Joseph Dycus,
The Mercury News,
13 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Rubin: There was a surprising lack of campiness to this whole thing.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
2 Mar. 2025
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While winds will be much weaker and temperatures much cooler, dry vegetation due to lack of recent rainfall combined with the dry air will once again enhance the wildfire danger across the western Carolinas and northeast Georgia.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
2 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Delimitros said one of the truck’s side view mirrors struck her in the head, causing minor injuries.—
David Hernandez,
sandiegouniontribune.com,
19 July 2017
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Cal Fire representatives said the current parking mess has already impacted them because the driveway to their station enters the highway not far from the trail head.—
J. Harry Jones,
Ramona Sentinel,
19 July 2017
Verb
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Now, add the wine and scrape any of those yummy brown bits off the bottom of the pan.—
Claudia Alexander,
The Mercury News,
5 Mar. 2025
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Each page was scraped about seven times on average.—
Rashi Shrivastava,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2025
Verb
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An investigation revealed the suspect pulled the victim’s hair and scratched the victim’s face two days prior.—
Anne Gelhaus,
The Mercury News,
7 Mar. 2025
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Summiting Mount Everest is on so many avid travelers’ must-do lists; join the fray and scratch that itch this month.—
Mark Ellwood,
AFAR Media,
6 Mar. 2025
Articles Related to crunch
Cite this Entry
“Crunch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunch. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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