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Synonyms

crumbly

American  
[kruhm-blee] / ˈkrʌm bli /

adjective

  • crumblier,
    comparative
  • crumbliest
    superlative
  1. apt to crumble; friable.


crumbly British  
/ ˈkrʌmblɪ /

adjective

  1. easily crumbled or crumbling

"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

noun

  1. slang an older person

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Adjectives


Etymology

Origin of crumbly

First recorded in 1515–25; crumble + -y 1


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:

During the first 500,000 years, the amount of crumbly material dropped before rising again over the following million years.

From Science Daily ● May 26, 2026

When Elizabeth writes of stepping into her gleaming kitchen to “test the crumbly brown goodness of the toasted veal cutlets à la Connecticut,” she is not so much lying as world-building.

From Salon ● Dec. 25, 2025

An oil driller tapped into the wet, crumbly ore at Florence in the 1970s.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 2, 2025

Towering at 300 feet tall, the crumbly ocher cliffs of Palos Verdes Estates boast breathtaking views of Los Angeles’ coastline.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2025

The late sun burned down on their heads and there were brown, crumbly ant beds all around them.

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers

It will be crumblier when you make it without gluten, but the heartiness makes up for that.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2023

The resulting cake is crumblier — because duh, it doesn't have the fat! — but it's good.

From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2022

This fall, we set out to publish the most delicious apple-cranberry crisp recipe of all time — one that was bursting with juicy fruit, lightly spiced, with the butteriest, crumbliest topping.

From Salon ● Nov. 12, 2022

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