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 (distinguished from 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

Explanation

A crumb is a very tiny piece of food. Some recipes instruct you to top a dish with bread crumbs before you bake it. Crumbs are what you're left with after finishing a box of cookies or a bag of tortilla chips — the bits that are too small to eat. You can also talk about other, non-edible types of crumbs, like the crumb of wisdom in an otherwise silly movie or the crumb of information a detective finds at a crime scene. The Old English root is cruma, "crumb," and it's thought that the silent b was influenced by words like dumb.

Example Sentences

It adds gentle richness and, crucially, a plush but defined crumb — one that feels almost cushioned, yet precise.

From Salon • Mar. 31, 2026

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

From Science Daily • Feb. 8, 2026

Rob Edwards needs something, anything, to go his way after five defeats from five games and maybe - just maybe! - he will get a crumb of comfort on Saturday.

From BBC • Dec. 18, 2025

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

He carried the diamond knife and the plug of plastic containing the toast crumb of cells into the cutting room.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston