crunch

Meanings

1. 1nounusually singularinformal

   A moment of serious pressure or difficulty, often caused by a lack of time or money, when hard decisions must be made.

   Grammar: Usually appears as the crunch or a crunch: when it comes to the crunch.

   Patterns

   • when it comes to the crunch
   • a crunch on something

   When it came to the crunch, nobody volunteered to speak.

   The company faces a cash crunch this quarter.

   There is a space crunch in the office since the new hires arrived.

2. 2nounusually singular

   A sharp, loud sound made by something hard being crushed or chewed.

   Grammar: Often followed by of: the crunch of gravel.

   Patterns

   • the crunch of something

   We heard the crunch of boots on frozen snow.

   The apple broke with a loud crunch.

   Each crunch of the cereal echoed in the quiet kitchen.

3. 3verbtransitive or intransitive

   To chew or crush something hard so that it makes a sharp noise, or to make that noise while moving over something.

   Grammar: Either takes an object (crunch ice) or has none (leaves crunched underfoot).

   Patterns

   • crunch on something
   • crunch through something

   He crunched a carrot while watching TV.

   The tires crunched over the gravel driveway.

   Dry leaves crunch under your feet in autumn.

4. 4verbtransitiveinformal

   To process a large amount of data or numbers quickly.

   Grammar: Takes numbers or data as object: crunch the figures.

   Patterns

   • crunch numbers
   • crunch data

   Analysts crunched the numbers overnight before the meeting.

   The computer can crunch millions of records in seconds.

   I need an hour to crunch these sales figures.

Word forms

Common combinations

crunch time

It is crunch time, and the project is due tomorrow.

if it comes to the crunch

If it comes to the crunch, we can ask for help.

crunch the numbers

Accountants crunch the numbers at the end of each month.

credit crunch

The credit crunch made it hard for small firms to borrow.

crunch of gravel

The crunch of gravel announced that someone had arrived.

crunch point

Negotiations reached a crunch point on Friday.

Synonyms and how they differ

crisis

Crisis is a more serious and general word for a dangerous or decisive situation, while crunch is informal and often about lack of time or money.

squeeze

Squeeze describes ongoing pressure on resources, whereas crunch can mean the decisive moment itself.

showdown

Showdown means a final confrontation between sides, which is narrower than a crunch.

munch

Munch means chewing noisily with enjoyment, but crunch stresses the hard, sharp sound.

Opposites

Word family

crunchy adjective

firm and making a crackling sound when eaten

crunchiness noun

the quality of being crunchy

cruncher noun

something or someone that crunches, as in number cruncher

crunching noun

the act or sound of crushing noisily

Commonly confused: crunch or crush?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “crunch”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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