crunchBrE/krʌntʃ/NAmE/krʌntʃ/noun[C, usually sing.]anoiselikethesoundofsthfirmbeingcrushed压碎声；碎裂声◆thecrunchoffeetonsnow脚踩着雪发出的嘎吱嘎吱声◆Thecardrewupwithacrunchofgravel. 那辆汽车在沙砾路上嘎吱一声停了下来。the crunch[sing.](informal) animportantandoftenunpleasantsituationorpieceofinformation紧要关头；困境；症结；令人不快的重要消息◆ThecrunchcamewhenshereturnedfromAmerica. 她从美国回来以后，危机就出现了。◆Healwayssayshe'llhelpbutwhenitcomestothecrunch(= whenitistimeforaction)hedoesnothing. 他口口声声说一定帮忙，然而到关键时候却不行动。◆Thecrunchisthatwecan'taffordtogoabroadthisyear. 症结在于我们今年负担不起出国的费用。[C, usually sing.]asituationinwhichthereissuddenlynotenoughofsth, especiallymoney（突发的）不足，短缺；（尤指）缺钱◆thebudget/energy/housingcrunch预算/能源/住房短缺[C] = sit-up
crunchBrE/krʌntʃ/NAmE/krʌntʃ/verbpresent simple - I / you / we / theycrunchBrE/krʌntʃ/NAmE/krʌntʃ/present simple - he / she / itcrunchesBrE/ˈkrʌntʃɪz/NAmE/ˈkrʌntʃɪz/past simplecrunchedBrE/krʌntʃt/NAmE/krʌntʃt/past participlecrunchedBrE/krʌntʃt/NAmE/krʌntʃt/ -ing formcrunchingBrE/ˈkrʌntʃɪŋ/NAmE/ˈkrʌntʃɪŋ/[T, I]~ (on) sthtocrushsthnoisilybetweenyourteethwhenyouareeating嘎吱嘎吱地嚼◆Shecrunchedherapplenoisily. 她吃苹果发出嘎嚓嘎嚓的声音。[I, T]~ (sth)tomakeorcausesthtomakeanoiselikesthhardbeingcrushed（使）发出碎裂声SYNscrunch◆Thesnowcrunchedunderourfeet. 积雪在我们脚下嘎吱作响。[I]+ adv./prep.tomoveoverasurface, makingaloudcrushingnoise（在路上）行进发出响声◆Icrunchedacrossthegraveltothefrontdoor. 我嘎吱嘎吱走过石子路来到前门。[T]~sth(computing计算机) todealwithlargeamountsofdataveryquickly（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄➡ see alsonumber crunching●ˌcrunchsth↔ˈuptocrushsthcompletely彻底压碎（或碾碎）◆Hecruncheduptheemptypackandthrewitoutofthewindow. 他把小空纸包揉成一团丢出了窗外。
crunchBrE/krʌntʃ/NAmE/krʌntʃ/adjective[only before noun](informal) acrunchmeeting, sportsgame, etc. isveryimportantandmaybethelastchancetosucceed（会议、体育竞赛等）至关重要的，最后一线胜机的◆Sunday'scrunchgamewithLeeds星期天与利兹队决一雌雄的比赛
