scrunch up

scrunch up

1. To crouch or huddle into a small, cramped position. We all scrunched up so that the guards wouldn't be able to see us. Would the people in the front row mind scrunching up in their seats so the people in back can see better, please?
2. To squeeze, crush, or crumple something into a smaller shape, size, or space. A noun or pronoun can be used between "scrunch" and "up"; often followed by "into (something)." I scrunched the note up into a ball and tossed it across the room to Jake. Don't scrunch the newspaper up like that—it makes it hard to read!
See also: scrunch, up
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

scrunch something up

to crush or crunch up. I pounded the biscuits and scrunched them up into crumbs. He scrunched up the note and threw it upon the fire.
See also: scrunch, up
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

scrunch up

v.
1. To crumple or squeeze something: She scrunched up her nose like she was going to sneeze. I scrunched my gloves up and put them in my pocket.
2. To assume a crouched or cramped posture: The dog scrunched up in the corner to keep warm.
See also: scrunch, up
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • scrunch
  • scrunch down
  • scrunch down into
  • squeeze in
  • get into a huddle
  • get/go into a huddle
  • go into a huddle
  • huddle
  • at close quarters
  • close quarters, at/in
References in periodicals archive
When it comes being a on the breast lot of folk, scrunch up and stick in my And yet still there are too many missed appointments.
Keep abreast of those important meetings; Women shouldn't put needs to the back of queue
I named him Scrunch because he would scrunch up his face as if to say 'Who are you?'."
INSEPARA BULL; EXCLUSIVE Farmer shares house with his half-ton pet
So we all sat for what felt like a long time, on pause, occupying space, self-reflexive and aware of our own choices to speak or to stay quiet, to stretch out or to scrunch up. The band hung around onscreen, Nikki staring blankly and Cola fidgeting, adding a kind of white noise to the live air we were all sitting in, all breathing, together.
Girl, interrupted: Johanna Burton on Tracy + the Plastics
Can you lift your knees to run in place, scrunch up your nose, and wrinkle your face?
Do the limberjack
They may, for example, scrunch up where other leaves of the same species lie flat.
Micro sculptors: tiny RNAs mold the development of leaves
We know who the winners are, but it's still a treat watching the rigid smiles on the losers' faces as they scrunch up their carefully-rehearsed acceptance speech into a little ball.
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