breadcrumb
Americannoun
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a crumb of bread, either dried or soft.
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Also called breadcrumb trail. Digital Technology. Usually breadcrumbs. a sequence of text links on the current page of a website or web-based application, usually at the top, showing the page's location within a hierarchy of content or browsing history and providing a convenient navigational tool.
Online shoppers can use breadcrumbs to see other products in the same category.
noun
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the soft inner part of bread
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(plural) bread crumbled into small fragments, as for use in cooking
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of breadcrumb
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:
Adeline lays out a breadcrumb trail that eventually reveals that Sonny has lugged some especially heavy personal baggage to Sanctuary.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Millions of onlookers are attached to their screens, united in their desperation for any new breadcrumb in the case.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026
Each of these edits leaves a unique digital breadcrumb trail and Stamm's lab has developed a suite of tools calibrated to find and follow them.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2024
It is so nourishing and satisfying, sort of like a cabbage version of creamed spinach, but with a buttery breadcrumb topping.
From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2024
Ged shot breadcrumb arrows after the owls and brought them down, and when they touched the ground there they lay, bone and crumb, all illusion gone.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
But let’s be clear about what it represents: breadcrumbs.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
Not that it lacks a plan: Retrospectively, you can trace back the breadcrumbs that led toward a conclusion, of sorts — but I can say no more.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
Times 101 lists through the years and specialized in a sort of “no shortcuts” pre-World War II philosophy, with everything made from scratch, including its breadcrumbs and crackers.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2026
Add some breadcrumbs if you want a little more crunch and substance.
From Salon ● May 22, 2026
Matthias watched some of the tiny ants carrying off his fallen breadcrumbs as he answered, “As well as possible, Brother Methuselah. And how are your studies coming along?”
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
