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
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Recent Examples of crunch time
The Blue Devils were up 15 at half and cruising over UConn, but as crunch time came, the wheels started to fall off for the top team in the country.
—
Tyler Erzberger, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Mar. 2026
Vassell came up big in crunch time The sixth-year forward's jumper with four minutes left coming out of a timeout with the Spurs nursing a six-point league was perhaps the biggest bucket of the game.
—Tom Orsborn, San Antonio Express-News, 17 Mar. 2026
Friday night, at crunch time, Kel’el Ware mattered.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2026
James broke Abdul-Jabbar’s record for the most career field goals in the regular season against the Denver Nuggets, but an elbow injury limited his contributions in crunch time of a 120-113 loss that ended the Lakers’ three-game winning streak.
—Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for crunch time
Tyler Erzberger, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Mar. 2026
Vassell came up big in crunch time The sixth-year forward's jumper with four minutes left coming out of a timeout with the Spurs nursing a six-point league was perhaps the biggest bucket of the game.
—Tom Orsborn, San Antonio Express-News, 17 Mar. 2026
Friday night, at crunch time, Kel’el Ware mattered.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2026
James broke Abdul-Jabbar’s record for the most career field goals in the regular season against the Denver Nuggets, but an elbow injury limited his contributions in crunch time of a 120-113 loss that ended the Lakers’ three-game winning streak.
—Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for crunch time
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crunch time
Noun
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But the War on Terror persisted and mutated into nightmares in Iraq and Afghanistan, and then Syria, which unleashed that darkness in the form of terrorist states and a refugee crisis that spread anti-Muslim and anti-migrant hatred to Europe, the United States, and beyond.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Apr. 2026
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As Hal witnesses crisis and inequality firsthand, the line between observing and acting begins to blur.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The reason, an official with knowledge of the meeting plans said, is because King Charles is a head of state, rather than a head of government.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
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Matt Small, who is in his first season as Lincoln-Way Central’s head coach, was an assistant at Homewood-Flossmoor.—
Jeff Vorva,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The Kansas City Royals might have reached their breaking point against the Yankees in New York on Saturday.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
18 Apr. 2026
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The tension between engineering and finance reached a breaking point with the 737 MAX as the company tried to compete with Airbus.—
John Pacenti,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Like, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch nearing a boiling point.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
20 Apr. 2026
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Their feud was the focus of tabloid gossip for much of 2025 but reached a boiling point late last year after his wedding.—
Anna Tingley,
Variety,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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For the past 13 years, Maricopa County in Arizona has attempted to reform its sheriff’s department after Joe Arpaio made it into a national flash point for extreme immigration tactics.—
Jonathan van Harmelen,
The Conversation,
20 Apr. 2026
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The killing has become a flash point in a wider crackdown across the Persian Gulf.—
Elizabeth Robinson,
NBC news,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crunch time.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunch%20time. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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