crunch Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the sound of something crunching
    • he heard the crunch of footsteps on the gravel path
  2. 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
  3. noun the act of crushing
    crush; compaction.
  4. verb make a crushing noise
    scraunch; crackle; scranch.
    • his shoes were crunching on the gravel
  5. verb press or grind with a crushing noise
    grind; cranch; craunch.
  6. verb chew noisily
    munch.
    • The children crunched the celery sticks
  7. verb reduce to small pieces or particles by pounding or abrading
    bray; mash; comminute; grind.
    • grind the spices in a mortar
    • mash the garlic

WordNet

Crunch intransitive verb
Etymology
Prob. of imitative origin; or cf. D. schransen to eat heartily, or E. scrunch.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Crunched present participle & verbal noun Crunching
Definitions
  1. To chew with force and noise; to craunch.
    And their white tusks crunched o'er the whiter skull. Byron.
  2. To grind or press with violence and noise.
    The ship crunched through the ice. Kane.
  3. To emit a grinding or craunching noise.
    The crunching and ratting of the loose stones. H. James.
Crunch transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To crush with the teeth; to chew with a grinding noise; to craunch; as, to crunch a biscuit.

Webster 1913