crunch

/krəntʃ/

/krəntʃ/

Other forms: crunching; crunched; crunches

When you crunch something, you grind it into tiny pieces, often with your teeth. You can also crunch whole spices into smaller bits with a mortar and pestle.

A horse might crunch an apple, and on a summer day you might drink a glass of iced tea and crunch the ice between your teeth. You could also describe the sound of gravel underneath the wheels of a car or feet walking in fresh snow as a crunch. A figurative crunch is a deadline or crisis: "When it came to the crunch, I just voted for the person who would do the least harm."

Definitions of crunch

1. verb

   reduce to small pieces or particles by pounding or abrading
   synonyms: bray, comminute, grind, mash

   types:

   pulp

   reduce to pulp

   pestle

   grind, mash or pulverize in a mortar

   mill

   grind with a mill

   type of:

   break up, fragment, fragmentise, fragmentize

   break or cause to break into pieces
2. verb

   press or grind with a crushing noise
   synonyms: cranch, craunch, grind

   type of:

   press

   exert pressure or force to or upon
3. verb

   chew noisily
   “The children crunched the celery sticks”

   synonyms: munch

   type of:

   chew, jaw, manducate, masticate

   chew (food); to bite and grind with the teeth
4. verb

   make a crushing noise
   “his shoes were crunching on the gravel”

   synonyms: crackle, scranch, scraunch

   types:

   crump, scrunch, thud

   make a noise typical of an engine lacking lubricants

   type of:

   make noise, noise, resound

   emit a noise
5. noun

   the sound of something crunching
   “he heard the crunch of footsteps on the gravel path”

   type of:

   noise

   sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
6. noun

   the act of crushing
   synonyms: compaction, crush

   types:

   grind, mill, pulverisation, pulverization

   the act of grinding to a powder or dust

   type of:

   compressing, compression

   applying pressure
7. noun

   a critical situation that arises because of a shortage (as a shortage of time or money or resources)
   “an end-of-the year crunch”

   “a financial crunch”

   type of:

   situation

   a complex or critical or unusual difficulty