crumbs

British

/ krʌmz /

interjection

slang an expression of dismay or surprise

"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

Etymology

Origin of crumbs

C20: euphemistic for Christ!

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:

crumbs

The Union of High School students described the initial announcements last week as "crumbs".

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

The toppings are market-flexible, too: Use whatever chèvre or goat cheese you find, whether it crumbles into little pillows or lands in soft clouds, and turn a leftover hunk of cornbread into crisp, salty crumbs.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

Certainly, I felt a bit like Odysseus as I crept — drained, disoriented and trailing popcorn crumbs like Ithican sand — out into the sun.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

There is an absence of creative and dynamic central midfielders, a shortage of wingers with real pace and a serious problem in making chances for strikers who are forced to live off crumbs.

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026

Jennifer drains her coffee mug and wipes the crumbs from the corners of her mouth.

From "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023