crumb

American  

[kruhm] / krʌm /

noun

1. a small particle of bread, cake, etc., that has broken off.

2. a small particle or portion of anything; fragment; bit.

   Synonyms:

   speck, sliver, morsel, shred, scrap

3. the soft inner portion of a bread (crust ).

4. crumbs, a cake topping made of sugar, flour, butter, and spice, usually crumbled on top of the raw batter and baked with the cake.

5. Slang. a contemptibly objectionable or worthless person.

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verb (used with object)

1. Cooking. to dress or prepare with crumbs.

2. to break into crumbs or small fragments.

3. to remove crumbs from.

   The waiter crumbed the table.

crumb British  

/ krʌm /

noun

1. a small fragment of bread, cake, or other baked foods

2. a small piece or bit

   crumbs of information

3. the soft inner part of bread

4. slang a contemptible person

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verb

1. (tr) to prepare or cover (food) with breadcrumbs

2. to break into small fragments

adjective

1. (esp of pie crusts) made with a mixture of biscuit crumbs, sugar, etc

Other Word Forms

• crumbable adjective
• crumber noun
• decrumb verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of crumb

before 1000; Middle English crome, crume, Old English cruma; akin to Dutch kruim, German Krume crumb, Latin grūmus heap of earth

Example Sentences

Their hopes of chasing Irish demons from their door had gone, but with a five-metre lineout to come there was a chance of a crumb.

From BBC • Mar. 14, 2026

Changes in crumb structure also led to denser bread with reduced softness.

From Science Daily • Feb. 8, 2026

It’s when we enjoy slices of birthday cake to our hearts’ content, savoring every single crumb and licking our plates clean of any frosting.

From Salon • Jan. 10, 2026

While that might be some crumb of comfort for investors, it is still 31% off its record high of $126,273 it hit in early October.

From Barron's • Nov. 25, 2025

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