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
Relevance
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
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.
Recent Examples of crunch
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
3 July 2026
The filings capped a liquidity crunch brought on in part by the group’s costly bet on exclusive Olympic and World Cup broadcast rights.
—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
2 July 2026
Joe Cermele,
Outdoor Life,
17 June 2026
Griffin sat alongside mid-level employees, crunching numbers.
—
Gary Sernovitz,
New Yorker,
15 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for crunch
Noun
The chicken wings maintained their crunch despite being generously sauced and carted over to our bungalow.
—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
3 July 2026
The filings capped a liquidity crunch brought on in part by the group’s costly bet on exclusive Olympic and World Cup broadcast rights.
—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
2 July 2026
Verb
Their most striking characteristic is their human-like teeth designed to crunch through crabs and mollusks.
—
Joe Cermele,
Outdoor Life,
17 June 2026
Griffin sat alongside mid-level employees, crunching numbers.
—
Gary Sernovitz,
New Yorker,
15 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for crunch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crunch
Noun
-
The divergence is over whether the worker shortage is improving slowly or still getting worse, and what the Supreme Court should do about it.
-
Lights had been switched off to conserve electricity amid fuel shortages that have gripped Cuba since the beginning of the year.
Noun
-
Andrea Davis, president and CEO of The Resiliency Initiative, has spent 25 years planning emergency response and crisis management for organizations including Disney, Walmart, the FIFA World Cup and Times Square's New Year's Eve celebration.
-
Psychological trauma is also emerging as a major secondary crisis.
Verb
-
Showed toughness by gritting through ankle and knee injuries in the Final Four and title game.
-
Then the coach known as the most impulsive man on an NFL sideline runs that stop sign, grits his teeth and breaks unbound into character.
Noun
-
Keli Gonzalez, a painter the museum commissioned, became frustrated by the lack of female representation.
-
The lack of a World Cup title is the one gap on his historic résumé.
Noun
-
Use the ax head of a garden mattock to cut through the roots at the base of the stump.
-
The debate usually comes to a head in the summer, when high inland temperatures send bigger crowds to the beach, sometimes straining the mood of residents who live there.
Verb
-
When a user asked boat-botany why New Reddit isn’t scraped as often as Old Reddit, the Reddit employee pointed to a comment by another user.
-
Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with ⅓ cup sour cream in 2 additions (about 2½ tablespoons each), scraping down bowl as needed.
Verb
-
Some scratches early in this past season led to reports of Mintyukov requesting a trade, but the smooth-skating blueliner improved his play and settled in on Anaheim’s second defense pairing.
-
In a game not known for high scores, the pace of goals in this World Cup has left some fans scratching their heads.
Cite this Entry
“Crunch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunch. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
