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Synonyms

crumbly

American  
[kruhm-blee] / ˈkrʌm bli /

adjective

crumblier, crumbliest

  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

  • crumbliness noun
  • uncrumbly adjective

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.

Avoid ultra-lean blends; they bake up tight and crumbly, the culinary equivalent of overcorrecting.

From Salon • Mar. 11, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 2, 2025

"It was a bit damp and there was all this crumbly plaster and stuff in there - then my hand stumbled on this solid object and I pulled out this glass bottle."

From BBC • Feb. 21, 2025

Some storms are warm and wet, like frosting; others are cold and dry, like crumbly pastry.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2025

The trainer didn’t like the looks of the track, which was so deep and crumbly that it was playing at least a second slower than usual.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

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.