crunch
[krʌntʃ] verb intransitive or transitive
■to crush hard food loudly between the teeth, or to make a sound as if something is being crushed or broken 嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼；嘎吱作响•She was crunching noisily on an apple.她嘎吱嘎吱地嚼着苹果。 •The gravel crunched underfoot as we walked up to the house.我们向房子走去，脚下的砾石嚓嚓作响。
[krʌntʃ] noun
SOUND 声音
countable usually singular
■the sound of hard food being crushed between the teeth, or like something being crushed or broken 嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼；嘎吱作响•The woods were silent apart from the crunch of our feet in the snow.树林里一片寂静，只有我们踩在雪地上的嘎吱嘎吱声。
[krʌntʃ] noun
DIFFICULTY 困难
the crunch informal
only singular
■a difficult situation which forces you to make a decision or do something 严峻的形势；紧要关头；需要作出艰难抉择的时刻•The crunch came when she was forced to choose between her marriage and her career.关键时刻到了，她不得不在婚姻和事业之间作出选择。
[krʌntʃ] noun
if/when it comes to the crunch
■when a situation becomes extremely serious and a decision must be made 要是到了紧要关头；等到了关键时刻；需要作出决定时•If it comes to the crunch and you and your husband do split up, you can always stay with us.如果到最后关头，你和你丈夫非得离婚，你总还可以和我们住在一起。 |