crunch

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)

CIDE DICTIONARY

crunch, v. i. [Prob. of imitative origin; or cf. D. schransen to eat heartily, or E. scrunch.].

•  To chew with force and noise; to craunch.  [1913 Webster]

  "And their white tusks crunched o'er the whiter skull."  [1913 Webster]
•  To grind or press with violence and noise.  [1913 Webster]

  "The ship crunched through the ice."  [1913 Webster]
•  To emit a grinding or craunching noise.  [1913 Webster]

  "The crunching and ratting of the loose stones."  [1913 Webster]

crunch, v. t. 

 To crush with the teeth; to chew with a grinding noise; to craunch; as, to crunch a biscuit.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

crunch, v. & n.
--v.
1 tr. a crush noisily with the teeth. b grind (gravel, dry snow, etc.) under foot, wheels, etc.
2 intr. (often foll. by up, through) make a crunching sound in walking, moving, etc.
--n.
1 crunching; a crunching sound.
2 colloq. a decisive event or moment.

Etymology

earlier cra(u)nch, assim. to munch

THESAURUS

crunch

appulse, atomize, bang, bang into, belch, bind, bite, blare, blat, bray, break into pieces, break to pieces, break up, brunt, bulldozing, bulling, bump, bump into, burr, buzz, cackle, cannon, carambole, carom, carom into, caw, champ, chaw, chew, chirr, chomp, chump, clang, clangor, clank, clash, climacteric, clutch, collide, collision, come into collision, complication, concuss, concussion, confront each other, convergence of events, crack up, crack-up, crash, crash into, craunch, crisis, critical juncture, critical moment, critical point, croak, crossroads, crucial period, crump, crush, crux, cut to pieces, dash into, demolish, diffuse, disperse, disrupt, embarrassing position, embarrassment, emergency, encounter, exigency, extremity, fall foul of, fine how-do-you-do, fission, foul, fragment, grate, grind, groan, growl, grumble, hammering, hell to pay, high pressure, hinge, hit, hit against, hobble, hot water, how-do-you-do, hurt, hurtle, imbroglio, impact, imperativeness, impinge, impingement, jam, jangle, jar, juncture, knock, knock against, make mincemeat of, masticate, mauling, meet, meeting, mess, mince, mix, moment of truth, morass, munch, onslaught, parlous straits, pass, percuss, percussion, pickle, pinch, plight, predicament, press, pressure, pretty pass, pretty pickle, pretty predicament, pulverize, push, quagmire, quicksand, ramming, rasp, repercussion, rub, ruminate, run into, scatter, scranch, scrape, scratch, scrunch, shatter, shiver, shock, showdown, sideswipe, slam into, sledgehammering, slough, smack into, smash, smash into, smash up, smash-up, smashing, snarl, snore, splinter, spot, squash, squeeze, squish, stew, sticky wicket, strait, straits, stress, strike, strike against, swamp, tension, thrusting, tight spot, tight squeeze, tightrope, tricky spot, turn, turning point, twang, unholy mess, urgency, whomp

ROGET THESAURUS

crunch

Disjunction

VB be disjoined, come off, fall off, come to pieces, fall to pieces, peel off, get loose, disjoin, disconnect, disengage, disunite, dissociate, dispair, divorce, part, dispart, detach, separate, cut off, rescind, segregate, set apart, keep apart, insulate, isolate, throw out of gear, cut adrift, loose, unloose, undo, unbind, unchain, unlock, unpack, unravel, disentangle, set free, sunder, divide, subdivide, sever, dissever, abscind, circumcise, cut, incide, incise, saw, snip, nib, nip, cleave, rive, rend, slit, split, splinter, chip, crack, snap, break, tear, burst, rend, rend asunder, rend in twain, wrench, rupture, shatter, shiver, cranch, crunch, craunch, chop, cut up, rip up, hack, hew, slash, whittle, haggle, hackle, discind, lacerate, scamble, mangle, gash, hash, slice, cut up, carve, dissect, anatomize, dislimb, take to pieces, pull to pieces, pick to pieces, tear to pieces, tear to tatters, tear piecemeal, tear limb from limb, divellicate, skin, disintegrate, dismember, disbranch, disband, disperse, dislocate, disjoint, break up, mince, comminute, apportion, part, part company, separate, leave.

Contraction

VB become small, become smaller, lessen, decrease, grow less, dwindle, shrink, contract, narrow, shrivel, collapse, wither, lose flesh, wizen, fall away, waste, wane, ebb, decay, be smaller than, fall short of, not come up to, render smaller, lessen, diminish, contract, draw in, narrow, coarctate, boil down, constrict, constringe, condense, compress, squeeze, corrugate, crimp, crunch, crush, crumple up, warp, purse up, pack, squeeze, stow, pinch, tighten, strangle, cramp, dwarf, bedwarf, shorten, circumscribe, restrain, (subtraction) 38 abrade, pare, reduce, attenuate, rub down, scrape, file, file down, grind, grind down, chip, shave, shear, wear down.

Food

VB eat, feed, fare, devour, swallow, take, gulp, bolt, snap, fall to, despatch, dispatch, discuss, take down, get down, gulp down, lay in, tuck in, lick, pick, peck, gormandize, bite, champ, munch, cranch, craunch, crunch, chew, masticate, nibble, gnaw, mumble, live on, feed upon, batten upon, fatten upon, feast upon, browse, graze, crop, regale, carouse, eat heartily, do justice to, play a good knife and fork, banquet, break bread, break one's fast, breakfast, lunch, dine, take tea, sup, drink in, drink up, drink one's fill, quaff, sip, sup, suck, suck up, lap, swig, swill, chugalug, tipple, empty one's glass, drain the cup, toss off, toss one's glass, wash down, crack a bottle, wet one's whistle, purvey.

Pulverulence

VB come to dust, be disintegrated, be reduced to powder reduce to powder, grind to powder, pulverize, comminute, granulate, triturate, levigate, scrape, file, abrade, rub down, grind, grate, rasp, pound, bray, bruise, contuse, contund, beat, crush, cranch, craunch, crunch, scranch, crumble, disintegrate, attenuate.