SYNONYMS | EXAMPLES | WORD ORIGIN verb (used with object), crum·bled, crum·bling. to break into small fragments or crumbs.
verb (used without object), crum·bled, crum·bling. to fall into small pieces; break or part into small fragments.
to decay or disintegrate gradually: The ancient walls had crumbled.
noun crumbles, bits of crisp bacon, bread, etc., added to other foods, especially as a topping.
British Dialect crumb; particle; fragment.
Origin of crumble 1375–1425; earlier
crymble, crimble; late Middle English kremelen, akin to
crome crumb ; see
-le Related forms crum·bling·ness , noun half-crum·bled , adjective un·crum·bled , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for crumbling Contemporary Examples of crumbling Along the river, crumbling remnants of an active trading hub are overtaken by nature.
Next, the GOP should hammer away at how our roads, bridges, and tunnels are crumbling , and push for an infrastructure initiative.
For anyone who cared to watch, the event and its denouement provided a graphic demonstration that the Iron Curtain was crumbling .
Particularly with Legolas and the scene where he climbs up a crumbling tower.
In a bedroom at the top of crumbling stairs, a bed was made up with a comforter.
Historical Examples of crumbling Mauburn felt the rock foundations of Manhattan Island to be crumbling to dust.
And in the immediate foreground were the tumbled, crumbling memorials of the dead.
Comfort was the apex of the pyramid which is now crumbling away.
The masonry of the greater part of the wall was old and crumbling .
The air was filled with smoke and dust from the crumbling plaster.
British Dictionary definitions for crumbling verb to break or be broken into crumbs or fragments
(intr) to fall apart or away his resolution crumbled
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noun British a baked pudding consisting of a crumbly mixture of flour, fat, and sugar over stewed fruit apple crumble
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Word Origin for crumble C16: variant of crimble, of Germanic origin; compare Low German krömeln, Dutch kruimelen
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for crumbling v. late 15c., kremelen , from Old English *crymelan , presumed frequentative of gecrymman "to break into crumbs," from cruma (see crumb ). The -b- is 16c., probably on analogy of French-derived words like humble , where it belongs, or by influence of crumb . Related: Crumbled ; crumbling .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with crumbling see that's how the ball bounces (cookie crumbles).
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
