1. (

• crunch

) the sound of something crunching; "he heard the crunch of footsteps on the gravel path" ;

2. (

• crunch

) 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. (

• crush ,
• crunch ,
• compaction

) the act of crushing ;

1. (

• crunch ,
• scranch ,
• scraunch ,
• crackle

) make a crushing noise; "his shoes were crunching on the gravel" ;

2. (

• crunch ,
• cranch ,
• craunch ,
• grind ,

) press or grind with a crushing noise ;

3. (

• crunch ,
• munch

) chew noisily; "The children crunched the celery sticks" ;

4. (

• grind ,
• mash ,
• crunch ,
• bray ,
• comminute

) reduce to small pieces or particles by pounding or abrading; "grind the spices in a mortar"; "mash the garlic" ;