crouton
Americannoun
-
croutons
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of crouton
1800–10; < French, equivalent to croûte crust + -on diminutive suffix
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:
You want a real torn chunk, something closer to an unruly crouton than a breadcrumb.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
As Walker himself put it to CBS’s “48 Hours:” “I’m a crouton on a real big salad here.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
To elaborate: Part of the whole of a salad, yet a respite from all the vegetation, a crouton is a crispy little treasure.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 7, 2024
Pasta layered in a crock with vegetable-sweetened ground beef, chicken stock and a cheese-topped crouton is thick enough to warrant a fork.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 14, 2023
Pile them on the crouton, and have ready a tomato sauce to pour over.
From The Belgian Cookbook by Various
Some inventory counts reported as part of the bankruptcy proceedings were incorrect, leaving the company scrambling to find enough ingredients, such as buffalo sauce and croutons, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Cubed sourdough or cornbread croutons, toasted panko breadcrumbs, crispy rice or quinoa, chewy farro and cooked beans.
From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2025
Then there’s the “Almost Traditional” Caesar, with croutons toasted just shy of bitter and parmesan dusted like snowfall.
From Salon ● May 19, 2025
In this specific salad context, where every element counts, the substitution of breadcrumbs for croutons represents a particularly vexing situation.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 7, 2024
She still looked unconvinced, which, considering my peace offering was a lackluster salad with soggy croutons, was not all that surprising.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.
