breadcrumb

American  

[bred-kruhm] / ˈbrɛdˌkrʌm /

noun

1. a crumb of bread, either dried or soft.

2. 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.

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breadcrumb British  

/ ˈbrɛdˌkrʌm /

noun

1. the soft inner part of bread

2. (plural) bread crumbled into small fragments, as for use in cooking

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verb

1. to coat (food) with breadcrumbs

   egg and breadcrumb the escalopes

Etymology

Origin of breadcrumb

First recorded in 1760–70; bread + crumb

Example Sentences

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

Rescuers followed the road and found another breadcrumb: a second note with additional information, such as the names and telephone numbers of the missing individuals.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 16, 2025

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

From that point, you follow neat little winding trails threading through imposing trees, a breadcrumb trail out of a fairy tale, until you come to a clearing opening out to the labyrinth itself.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 4, 2024

Thinking that I could find a breadcrumb trail to follow back in time, to when I had only one color of skin.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish