crunch

1. V-T/V-I If you crunch something hard, such as a sweet, or if it crunches, you crush it noisily between your teeth. 嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼 (某物); 发出嘎吱声

She sucked an ice cube into her mouth, and crunched it loudly. 她把一冰块儿含在嘴里，并嘎吱嘎吱地大声嚼起来。

2. V-T/V-I If something crunches or if you crunch it, it makes a breaking or crushing noise, for example, when you step on it. 嘎吱嘎吱地碾或踩 (某物); 发出嘎吱声

A piece of china crunched under my foot. 一块瓷片在我的脚下发出嘎吱的响声。

3. N-COUNT Crunch is also a noun. 嘎吱嘎吱的声音

She heard the crunch of tyres on the gravel driveway. 她听到车胎碾在碎石铺成的私家车道上发出的嘎吱声。

4. V-I If you crunch across a surface made of very small stones, you move across it causing it to make a crunching noise. 嘎吱嘎吱地踩

I crunched across the gravel. 我从石子上嘎吱嘎吱地踩过。

5. V-T To crunch numbers means to do a lot of calculations using a calculator or computer. (用计算器或电脑) 运算

I pored over the books with great enthusiasm, often crunching the numbers until 1:00 a.m. 我饶有兴趣地细读这些书，常常运算到凌晨1：00。

6. N-SING You can refer to an important time or event, for example, when an important decision has to be made, as the crunch. 关键时刻

He can rely on my support when the crunch comes. 在关键时刻他会得到我的支持的。

7. N-COUNT A situation in which a business or economy has very little money can be referred to as a crunch. 财政困难[商业]

The U.N. is facing a cash crunch. 联合国正面临着资金短缺。