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crunch definition

crunch (krunc̸h)

intransitive verb, transitive verb

  1. to bite or chew with a noisy, crackling sound
  2. to press, grind, tread, fall, etc. with a noisy, crushing sound
  3. Informal to process (a vast quantity of numbers or other data) rapidly using a computer to crunch population statistics

Etymology: earlier craunch, of echoic orig.

noun

  1. the act or sound of crunching
  2. an exercise much like a sit-up, in which the upper body is raised only slightly off the floor rather than to an upright position
  3. Informal a tight situation; specif., an economic squeeze
  4. Slang a showdown

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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