crumble
To fall apart; to disintegrate.
Example
“The bread roll crumbled when I tried to slice it; it was too stale.”
Other meanings
To break into crumbs.
“We crumbled some bread into the water.”
To mix (ingredients such as flour and butter) in such a way as to form crumbs.
“Using your fingers, crumble the ingredients with the fingertips, lifting in an upward motion, until the mixture is sandy and resembles large breadcrumbs.”
Synonyms
- break down
- collapse
Related words
- crumblable
- crumblement
- crumbler
- crumblesome
- crumbling skull rule
- crumble up
- crumblingly
- crumblingness
Word history
From Old English "cruma".
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “crumble” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; related-word lists use Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0, based on Princeton WordNet), published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.