26984 words

crunch

12 definitions • 21 examples
1
to crush hard food loudly between the teeth, or to make a sound as if something is being crushed or broken:

Examples:

crunch on She was crunching noisily on an apple.
The gravel crunched underfoot as we walked up to the house.
2
the sound of hard food being crushed between the teeth, or like something being crushed or broken:

Examples:

The woods were silent apart from the crunch of our feet in the snow.
3
a difficult situation that forces you to make a decision or do something:

Examples:

the crunch comes When the crunch comes we will find out which side he is on.
The crunch came when she was forced to choose between her marriage and her career.
Here was the crunch: if she didn't tell the police what she knew, someone could get hurt.
This is the crunch time for him — he has to act before it's too late.
4
when or if a situation becomes extremely serious and a decision must be made:

Examples:

When it comes to the crunch, you won't have time to think about what to do next.
5
an exercise in which you lie on your back on the floor with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, and then raise your head and shoulders:

Examples:

Doing crunches every day strengthens your abdominal muscles.
6
to crush hard food loudly between the teeth, or to make a sound as if something is being crushed or broken:

Examples:

[ I ] She was crunching noisily on an apple.
[ I ] The gravel crunched underfoot as we walked up the path.
7

Examples:

The project seems worthwhile, but you have to crunch the numbers to see if it’s affordable.
8
a difficult situation which forces you to make a decision or act:

Examples:

'The state faces a financial crunch.
9
a noise that sounds as if something is being crushed or broken:

Examples:

We heard a loud crunch as the car hit the wall.
10
a situation in which there is not enough of something:

Examples:

Humanity is heading for an energy crunch within a very few years.
a crunch happens/occurs The crunch occurred because irresponsible lending led to a huge debt bubble.
If we want to avoid a recurrence of this present crunch, we need to understand why it happened.
Numerous agencies are starting to feel the crunch from operating for four months at or below last year's levels.
11
when a situation becomes extremely serious and a decision must be made:

Examples:

If it comes to the crunch, we'll have no alternative but to sell up.
12
to deal with data by performing a large number of calculations:

Examples:

We hired a major accounting firm to crunch the numbers.
We believe we have made a profit, but we haven't crunched the numbers yet.

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