crunch time

noun

Definition of crunch timenext
as in crisis
a time or state of affairs requiring prompt or decisive action with only three minutes left in the game, it was definitely crunch time

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of crunch time The Knicks’ captain shoulders the NBA’s heaviest load in crunch time. — Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 27 Feb. 2025 Yet for the Knicks, Josh Hart ranks 67th in crunch time scoring, Karl-Anthony Towns ranks 75th, and no other player wearing orange and blue has cracked the top-100 in clutch scoring. — Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 27 Feb. 2025 In crunch time, especially in the semifinals and finals, anybody could easily see just how important those games were. — Ryan Morik, Fox News, 27 Feb. 2025 With Butler now out of the fold, Herro will see the ball even more in hands, with little doubt that the ball will go through him in crunch time. — Dj Siddiqi, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for crunch time
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crunch time
  1. crisis
  2. head
  3. breaking point
  4. boiling point
  5. flash point
Noun
  • The biggest challenges facing Fort Worth include the hiring of a new police chief during a mental health crisis that law enforcement is failing to address effectively.
    — Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Apr. 2025
  • The team averted a crisis on beam, with junior Jordan Bowers delivering a stellar routine after a fall from the prior athlete.
    — Caroline Price, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2025
Definition of crisis
Noun
  • Delimitros said one of the truck’s side view mirrors struck her in the head, causing minor injuries.
    — David Hernandez, sandiegouniontribune.com, 19 July 2017
  • Now, Maineri heads into year 12 with 18 pitchers on his roster, hoping that rising junior Caleb Gilbert and sophomore-to-be Zach Hess will emerge at the top of the pitching rotation.
    — John Roach, NOLA.com, 19 July 2017
Definition of head
Noun
  • And compounding crises driven by climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and fiscal pressures have pushed the grid to the breaking point, Cecilio Ortiz García, co-founder of the University of Puerto Rico’s National Institute of Energy and Island Sustainability previously told USA TODAY.
    — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2025
  • The rising cost of essentials such as housing, groceries, healthcare, has outpaced wage growth for many, eroding purchasing power and stretching family budgets to the breaking point.
    — Jack Kelly, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025
Definition of breaking point
Noun
  • And when the Rangers failed to take a step forward in 2022, despite their marquee free-agent signings of Marcus Semien and Corey Seager (the ex-Dodgers shortstop whom Woodward helped woo to Texas) the previous offseason, discontent among the club reached a boiling point.
    — Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2025
  • The tense hearing reached a boiling point shortly after Balian flashed a photo on the courtroom screen showing José and Kitty’s dead bodies inside the den where they were killed.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 11 Apr. 2025
Definition of boiling point
Noun
  • This case has become a national flash point as the Trump administration ratchets up its deportation efforts and its crackdown on immigration.
    — Brett Samuels, The Hill, 18 Apr. 2025
  • Gender dynamics became a flash point: Danes see themselves as pioneers for equality, while many new arrivals came from traditional Muslim societies where women often did not work outside the home and girls could not always decide when and whom to marry.
    — Robert Petkoff Krish Seenivasan Quinton Kamara, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2025
Definition of flash point

Browse Nearby Words

crunch (on)
crunch time
crunch times
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Crunch time.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunch%20time. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025.

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