- to break or be broken into crumbs or fragments
- (intransitive) to fall apart or away
- Brit a baked pudding consisting of a crumbly mixture of flour, fat, and sugar over stewed fruit: apple crumble
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
crum•ble /ˈkrʌmbəl/USA pronunciation
v., -bled, -bling.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- to (cause to) break into small fragments: [no object]The ancient paper crumbled in his hands.[~ + object]I crumbled the dried leaves in my fingers.
- [no object] to disintegrate gradually;
collapse;
lose strength: The ancient empire was crumbling from within.
crum•ble
(krum′bəl),USA pronunciation v., -bled, -bling, n.
v.t.
v.i.
n.
crum′bling•ness, n.
v.t.
- to break into small fragments or crumbs.
v.i.
- to fall into small pieces;
break or part into small fragments. - to decay or disintegrate gradually:The ancient walls had crumbled.
n.
- a crumbly or crumbled substance.
- Food crumbles, bits of crisp bacon, bread, etc., added to other foods, esp. as a topping.
- British Termscrumb;
particle;
fragment.
- 1375–1425; earlier crymble, crimble; late Middle English kremelen, akin to crome crumb; see -le
- 1. mash, shatter. 2. disintegrate.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
crumble /ˈkrʌmbəl/ vb
'crumbling' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
collapse
- crumbly
- dry rot
- pulverulent
- tumbledown
- half-crumbling
- masonry
- moss
- weather
- short