crumpet
Americannoun
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crumpets
plural
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a round soft unsweetened bread resembling a muffin, cooked on a griddle or the like, and often toasted.
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British Slang. a sexually attractive woman.
noun
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a light soft yeast cake full of small holes on the top side, eaten toasted and buttered
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(in Scotland) a large flat sweetened cake made of batter
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slang women collectively
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slang a sexually desirable woman
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slang utterly worthless
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of crumpet
1350–1400; short for crumpetcake curled cake, equivalent to Middle English crompid (past participle of crumpen, variant of crampen to bend, curl ( see cramp 1) + cake
Explanation
A crumpet is a spongy bread that's cooked on a griddle and served warm with butter. Crumpets are a delicious alternative to toast or English muffins. Crumpets were probably invented in Wales as a way to make bread without access to an oven. Like English muffins, they're cooked on a hot pan or griddle, but crumpets are made from a batter, rather than a dough. Etymologists suspect that crumpet may derive from crompid cake, "wafer," or literally "curled-up cake," and its root, which is shared with crumple.
Vocabulary lists containing crumpet
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Fuelled by a toasted crumpet and a beer, which he scoffed on Blossoms' tour bus, it was an even more unexpected triumph.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2023
Analysis: This category is crazy crowded, so much so that I can’t even see the crumpet contingent managing to put “Downton’s” Maggie Smith back among the nominees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2016
We also use words like fortnight and crumpet and jolly good, so we should probably not be taken very seriously.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2014
I’ll eat a crumpet or an English muffin.
From New York Times ● Nov. 5, 2011
Beside her on the brass fender of the hearth a tea was laid out: steaming thimbles and a variety of crumbs; tea cake and crumpet and cucumber sandwich, on polished British pennies.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
"The world's gone mad", he told BBC News, arguing the government legislation should draw a clearer distinction between crumpets and more traditional junk food like fried chicken.
From BBC ● Dec. 4, 2024
When compared to preparing other breakfast classics, such as muffins, scones, or yeasted crumpets, pikelets make for an easygoing weekend morning.
From Salon ● Mar. 26, 2022
“Sims 4: Cottage Living,” released in July, added dishes inspired by the English countryside, including bangers and mash, beef Wellington, crumpets and Yorkshire pudding.
From New York Times ● Feb. 7, 2022
Open since 1976, the Crumpet Shop is the only place in the Market to get delightfully squishy, hot griddled crumpets.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 20, 2021
“I know you weren’t exactly sipping tea and eating crumpets when I left you back in the cargo room all that time. Ready to tell me what happened?”
From "The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin)" by James Dashner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
