crum|ple /krʌ mp ə l/ (crumples , crumpling , crumpled )
1 VERB If you crumple something such as paper or cloth, or if it crumples , it is squashed and becomes full of untidy creases and folds. □ [V n] She crumpled the paper in her hand. □ [V ] The front and rear of the car will crumple during a collision. ● PHRASAL VERB Crumple up means the same as crumple . □ [V P n] She crumpled up her coffee cup. □ [V n P ] Nancy crumpled up the note and threw it in the bin. ● crum|pled ADJ □ His uniform was crumpled, untidy, splashed with mud.
2 VERB If someone crumples , they collapse, for example when they have received a shock. [WRITTEN ] □ [V ] His body crumpled. □ [V prep] He immediately crumpled to the floor. □ [V -ed] Chance McAllister lay crumpled on the floor.
▸ crumple up → see crumple 1
crunch /krʌ ntʃ/ (crunches , crunching , crunched )
1 VERB If you crunch something hard, such as a sweet, you crush it noisily between your teeth. □ [V n] She sucked an ice cube into her mouth, and crunched it loudly. □ [V + into/on ] Richard crunched into the apple.
2 VERB If something crunches or if you crunch it, it makes a breaking or crushing noise, for example when you step on it. □ [V ] A piece of china crunched under my foot. □ [V n] He crunched the sheets of paper in his hands. ● N‑COUNT Crunch is also a noun. □ [+ of ] She heard the crunch of tires on the gravel driveway.
3 VERB If you crunch across a surface made of very small stones, you move across it causing it to make a crunching noise. □ [V prep/adv] I crunched across the gravel. □ [V prep/adv] …wheels crunching over a stony surface.
4 N‑SING [oft N n] You can refer to an important time or event, for example when an important decision has to be made, as the crunch . □ He can rely on my support when the crunch comes. □ The Prime Minister is expected to call a crunch meeting on Monday. ● PHRASE If you say that something will happen if or when it comes to the crunch , you mean that it will happen if or when the time comes when something has to be done. □ If it comes to the crunch, I'll resign over this.
5 VERB To crunch numbers means to do a lot of calculations using a calculator or computer. □ [V n] I pored over the books with great enthusiasm, often crunching the numbers until 1:00 a.m.
6 N‑COUNT A situation in which a business or economy has very little money can be referred to as a crunch . [BUSINESS ] □ …a financial crunch that could threaten the company's future.
7 N‑COUNT Crunches are exercises that you do to strengthen your stomach muscles. They involve sitting up from a lying position with your legs straight, bent, or raised. □ He spends hours doing crunches and squats in the gym.
crunchy /krʌ ntʃi/ (crunchier , crunchiest ) ADJ Food that is crunchy is pleasantly hard or crisp so that it makes a noise when you eat it. [APPROVAL ] □ …fresh, crunchy vegetables.
cru|sade /kruːse I d/ (crusades , crusading , crusaded )
1 N‑COUNT [N to-inf] A crusade is a long and determined attempt to achieve something for a cause that you feel strongly about. □ [+ against/for ] Footballers launched an unprecedented crusade against racism on the terraces.
2 VERB If you crusade for a particular cause, you make a long and determined effort to achieve something for it. □ [V + against/for ] …a newspaper that has crusaded against the country's cocaine traffickers. □ [V -ing] …an adopted boy whose cause is taken up by a crusading lawyer.
3 N‑PROPER‑PLURAL The Crusades were the wars that were fought by Christians in Palestine against the Muslims during the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries.
cru|sad|er /kruːse I də r / (crusaders )
1 N‑COUNT A crusader for a cause is someone who does a lot in support of it. □ [+ for ] He has set himself up as a crusader for higher press and broadcasting standards.
2 N‑COUNT A Crusader was a knight who fought in the Crusades.
crush /krʌ ʃ/ (crushes , crushing , crushed )
1 VERB To crush something means to press it very hard so that its shape is destroyed or so that it breaks into pieces. □ [V n] Andrew crushed his empty can. □ [V n] Peel and crush the garlic. □ [V -ed] …crushed ice.
2 VERB To crush a protest or movement, or a group of opponents, means to defeat it completely, usually by force. □ [V n] The military operation was the first step in a plan to crush the uprising. ● crush|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] …the violent crushing of anti-government demonstrations.
3 VERB [usu passive] If you are crushed by something, it upsets you a great deal. □ [be V -ed] Listen to criticism but don't be crushed by it.
4 VERB [usu passive] If you are crushed against someone or something, you are pushed or pressed against them. □ [be V -ed prep] We were at the front, crushed against the stage.
5 N‑COUNT [usu sing] A crush is a crowd of people close together, in which it is difficult to move. □ Franklin and his thirteen-year-old son somehow got separated in the crush.
6 N‑COUNT If you have a crush on someone, you are in love with them but do not have a relationship with them. [INFORMAL ] □ [+ on ] She had a crush on you, you know.