crunch
- 01 B1 Intermediate
n.the loud sound of something being crushed or broken.
n.a distinct, noisy crackling or grinding sound produced by crushing a brittle substance.
Simple“We heard the crunch of dry leaves under our boots as we walked through the woods.”
In context“The silence of the winter morning was broken only by the rhythmic crunch of footsteps on the frozen crust of the snow.”
Synonymscrackelgrind - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a difficult situation caused by a lack of money or time.
n.a critical situation resulting from a shortage of resources, typically financial or temporal.
Simple“The sudden credit crunch made it very difficult for small businesses to get loans.”
In context“Faced with a severe budget crunch, the department was forced to cancel several long-term research projects and reduce its administrative staff.”
- 03 B1 Intermediate
n.an exercise for your stomach muscles where you lift your shoulders off the floor.
n.an abdominal exercise performed by lying on the back and lifting the torso toward the knees without raising the lower back.
Simple“He did fifty crunches every morning to strengthen his core.”
In context“The trainer emphasized that performing a slow, controlled crunch is more effective for abdominal development than doing rapid, jerky sit-ups.”
Synonymssit up - 04 C1 Advanced
n.a period of intense work and long hours to finish a project on time.
n.a period of compulsory or high-pressure overtime, particularly prevalent in the software and video game industries before a product launch.
Simple“The developers were in crunch for three months to get the game ready for Christmas.”
In context“Industry critics have frequently denounced the culture of 'crunch' as an unsustainable practice that leads to employee burnout and high turnover rates.”
UsageOften used as an uncountable noun in this context.
Teacher's tipThis is a very common term in the tech and gaming industries; it carries a negative connotation regarding work-life balance.
- 05 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to process or calculate large amounts of information quickly.
v.to process large volumes of data or perform complex numerical calculations.
Simple“The computer takes a few minutes to crunch all the data from the survey.”
In context“Modern supercomputers can crunch trillions of operations per second, allowing meteorologists to create more accurate weather models than ever before.”
UsageAlmost always used with 'numbers' or 'data' as the object.
- 06 B1 Intermediate
v.to crush food loudly with your teeth.
v.to chew or grind something with a noisy, crackling sound.
Simple“She sat on the sofa crunching an apple while she watched the news.”
In context“The guests sat around the table, happily crunching on fresh celery stalks and toasted pita chips while waiting for the main course.”
“But it is a pop-up venue, so they can obviously fix those stands fairly quickly and have it ready to go, but it’s obviously a huge time crunch.”
From earlier craunch, cranch, of imitative origin.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.