crunch A "crunch" can be a sound or a type of action. Something is pressed together, smashed, walked on, eaten, pushed, or hit: - Walking on dry leaves creates a crunching sound.
- When you eat potato chips, there’s a crunch as your mouth closes down on the chips.
- Crackers crunch when they are eaten.
- Ice and snow crunch when walked upon.
- Many people like to eat a bowl of cereal in the morning. Many cereals crunch when eaten. The cereal is crunchy.
 a bowl of corn flakes
"Crunchy" is the adjective form of the word "crunch." - I won’t eat potato chips if they aren’t crunchy.
- When grass dries up, it becomes brown and crunchy.
- Leaves are crunchy after they have dried.
- Crackers are crunchy. If they aren’t, they’re stale.
- There’s nothing better than a hard, crunchy apple.
The word "crunch" is also used when talking about a lack of time or when working with money. This is a type of slang: - We’re going to face a time crunch at the end of the day. (We don’t have enough time.)
- We’re really crunched for time.
- This is crunch time. This project has to be finished by tomorrow. (crunch time = nearing a deadline)
- Our accountants are crunching some numbers in order to make the new budget work. (crunch numbers = calculate)
Click here to go to the Word of the Day page. This page was first published on June 14, 2012. It was updated on February 3, 2016. | 
a bowl of corn flakes