scrunch (skrŭnch, skrʊnch)

v., scrunched, scrunch·ing, scrunch·es.

v.tr.

1. To crush or crunch.
2. To crumple or squeeze; hunch: scrunched up their shoulders; scrunch one's nose against a window.

v.intr.

1. To hunch: "The men scrunched closer" (Susan Dworski).
2. To move with or make a crunching sound: scrunching along the gravel path.

n.
A crunching sound.

[Probably alteration of CRUNCH.]

scrunchable scrunch'a·ble adj.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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