Phrase guide

credit crunch

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A period of economic crisis in which credit and investment capital are difficult to obtain.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: business, economics, finance, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a state in which there is a short supply of cash to lend to businesses and consumers and interest rates are high

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: liquidity crisis, squeeze

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: financial condition

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

6 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: luottolama — period of difficulty in obtaining credit
  • French: resserrement de crédit — period of difficulty in obtaining credit
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kredittskvis — period of difficulty in obtaining credit
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kredittilstamming — period of difficulty in obtaining credit
  • Polish: nadmierne ograniczenie podaży kredytu — period of difficulty in obtaining credit
  • Swedish: kreditåtstramning — period of difficulty in obtaining credit