to crunch

Examples

• All

• As I walked through the forest, I loved to hear the leaves crunch under my feet.

• Cunningham threw three or four Doritos into his mouth and crunched them loudly with his teeth.

  Fiction book (1993)

• I got out of the Jeep and started to crunch across towards the front door.

  Shawn Ryan Show

• I also love being out on a walk and crunching the leaves.

• To look at that, I heard footsteps crunching in the dry snow, and I heard a voice.

• I stopped and got out, taking a flashlight, and crunched across the snow.

  Academic text (2001)

• I sat there for a long time and finally heard him crunch up the gravel path, whistling.

  Fiction book (1990)

• The truck backed into the farmyard, crunching across the gravel, chickens scattering from under its wheels.

  Fiction book (1992)

• Cerelac is a coarse, soya-based powder that crunches like sand when chewed.

  Academic text (1996)

• Steadfast, dart nocked in her atlatl, she crunched up the slope into the brunt of the wind.

  Fiction book (1990)

Synonyms

G

to grind

vsto crunch

61 2.4

To crush something into powder by rubbing or pressing

is focused on audible chewing or crushing rather than making fine powder

M

to munch

vsto crunch

43 2.6

To chew food noisily, often making a crunching sound

is broader, including crushing underfoot as well as chewing sounds

C

to chomp

vsto crunch

31 4.0

To bite or chew food loudly with big jaw movements

is about chewing or crushing that specifically makes crackling or grinding sounds

C

to chew up

vsto crunch

5 3.9

To damage something badly, often by biting or tearing

is the physical act of audible chewing or crushing rather than general destruction

S

to scraunch

vsto crunch

• UK

9.9

To make a loud, harsh crunching sound when crushed underfoot

is chewing or crushing with teeth or foot making crackling or grinding sound

S

to scranch

vsto crunch

• Archaic

9.9

A loud crushing sound you hear when you step on hard loose things like snow or gravel

is chewing or crushing with teeth or foot making crackling or grinding sound

C

to craunch

vsto crunch

9.9

To press something hard so it makes a loud crunching sound

is chewing or crushing with teeth or foot making crackling or grinding sound

C

to cranch

vsto crunch

• Archaic

9.9

To make a loud crunching sound when something is pressed or walked on

is chewing or crushing with teeth or foot making crackling or grinding sound

Phrasal Verbs

C

to crunch numbers

21 3.7

To do calculations and study numbers quickly

Compounds

C

crunch time

• Informal

12 4.2

A short time when people must work very hard to finish something

C

credit crunch

8 4.5

A time when banks make loans harder to get because they have little money

E

extra crunch

2.1

An added crisp texture that makes food more satisfying to bite

T

tummy crunch

• Informal

3.7

An exercise that lifts the shoulders toward the hips to work the stomach muscles

How Crunchy

to crunch

28 1.8

to chomp

31 4.0

to munch

43 2.6

to chew

457 1.0

to nibble

56 2.0

Surface Forms

Etymology