verb
crunch
kruhnch
verb
1
To crush something noisily, especially food, making a crackling sound.
"He crunched loudly on an apple during the meeting."
"Gravel crunched under their boots as they walked up the path."
2
To process large amounts of data or numbers.
"The accountant spent the afternoon crunching the quarterly figures."
noun
1
The crackling sound made when something is crushed or bitten into.
"I love the crunch of a fresh, cold carrot."
2
A critical or decisive moment, often involving pressure or difficulty.
"When the crunch came, the team pulled together and finished on time."
3
In game or software development, a period of mandatory overtime before a deadline.
"The studio faced criticism over its brutal crunch before the game's launch."
How to Use Crunch
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishCovers the crackling sound of biting or crushing something, and by extension a tense make-or-break moment or period of intense work.
Common pairings
crunch the numbers
crunch time
satisfying crunch
Word Forms
crunched past tense, crunches plural, crunches singular
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “crunch”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
He _____ loudly on an apple during the meeting.
Etymology
From earlier forms like "craunch" and "cranch", words invented to imitate the sound itself.