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
But in crunch time, Fournier was the man who got the ball in the biggest moment of the game and put the Canadians away for good.
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Kyle Feldscher, CNN, 6 Aug. 2024
Shippers are in crunch time as the Sept. 30 negotiation deadline nears.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 5 Aug. 2024
With the summit over now, as of Friday crunch time rapidly approaches, as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made clear Wednesday.
—David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 13 July 2024
Further Reading The death march: the problem of crunch time in game development
After playing for about two hours and talking to the team behind the project, Cain said the VP asked him directly how long the demo needed to become a shippable game.
—Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 20 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for crunch time 
Kyle Feldscher, CNN, 6 Aug. 2024
Shippers are in crunch time as the Sept. 30 negotiation deadline nears.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 5 Aug. 2024
With the summit over now, as of Friday crunch time rapidly approaches, as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made clear Wednesday.
—David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 13 July 2024
Further Reading The death march: the problem of crunch time in game development
After playing for about two hours and talking to the team behind the project, Cain said the VP asked him directly how long the demo needed to become a shippable game.
—Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 20 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for crunch time
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crunch time
Noun
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Bill undergoes a moral crisis when his path crosses with a wretched head nun (Emily Watson) at a convent that’s part of the notorious Magdalene Laundries — a place of severe abuse of women.Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2024
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Election anxiety could be building, but crisis lines and other tools are available to listen and help out on Election Day and beyond.The Courier-Journal, The Courier-Journal, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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The systematic destruction in South Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and the southern suburbs of Beirut suggests that Israel hopes to displace more than a million Lebanese Shiites, with the ultimate aim of forcing Lebanese social tensions to the breaking point.Mohanad Hage Ali, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2024
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The breaking point came after the 2020 election, when Trump refused to concede defeat and fought to remain in the White House by nullifying Joe Biden’s victory.Mike Lillis, The Hill, 1 Nov. 2024
Noun
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However, tensions within the family reached a boiling point when Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) made a bold move by publicly calling for his father's impeachment.Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
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Islanders have been dealing with economic turmoil stemming from a financial crisis that reached its boiling point in 2015, when Puerto Rico accumulated about $72 billion in public debt — yet, unlike other U.S. jurisdictions, couldn't legally file for bankruptcy.Nicole Acevedo, NBC News, 31 Oct. 2024
Noun
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The Kapadia incident was the latest flash point between Grierson and the Jewish community.Jake Kanter, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2024
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The company’s latest offer includes reinstating an annual bonus that averaged around 3.7% of wages and was dropped from the initial agreement, a flash point that striking Machinists cited repeatedly in interviews.Julie Johnsson, Fortune, 23 Sep. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near crunch time
Cite this Entry
“Crunch time.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crunch%20time. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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