crunch

[[t]krʌ̱ntʃ[/t]]

crunches, crunching, crunched

1) VERB If you crunch something hard, such as a sweet, you crush it noisily between your teeth.

[V n] She sucked an ice cube into her mouth, and crunched it loudly...

[V into/on n] Richard crunched into the apple.

2) V-ERG If something crunches or if you crunch it, it makes a breaking or crushing noise, for example when you step on it.

A piece of china crunched under my foot...

[V n] He crunched the sheets of paper in his hands.

Syn:

scrunch

N-COUNT; SOUND

Crunch is also a noun.

She heard the crunch of tires on the gravel driveway.

3) VERB If you crunch across a surface made of very small stones, you move across it causing it to make a crunching noise.

[V prep/adv] I crunched across the gravel.

[V prep/adv] ...wheels crunching over a stony surface.

4) N-SING: usu the N, oft N n You can refer to an important time or event, for example when an important decision has to be made, as the crunch.

Tomorrow, though, is the crunch...

He can rely on my support when the crunch comes...

The Prime Minister is expected to call a crunch meeting on Monday.

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PHRASE: V inflects If you say that something will happen if or when it comes to the crunch, you mean that it will happen if or when the time comes when something has to be done.

If it comes to the crunch, I'll resign over this.

5) VERB To crunch numbers means to do a lot of calculations using a calculator or computer.

[V n] I pored over the books with great enthusiasm, often crunching the numbers until 1:00 a.m.

6) N-COUNT: usu supp N A situation in which a business or economy has very little money can be referred to as a crunch.

The UN is facing a cash crunch.

...a financial crunch that could threaten the company's future.

Syn:

crisis