crump
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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(of an artillery shell) to land and explode with a heavy, muffled sound.
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to make a crunching sound, as in walking over snow, or as snow when trodden on.
noun
-
a crunching sound.
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a large explosive shell or bomb.
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Also called bump. Mining. a sudden ground movement in underground workings.
verb
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(intr) to thud or explode with a loud dull sound
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(tr) to bombard with heavy shells
noun
Etymology
Origin of crump
First recorded in 1640–50; imitative
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.
In February last year, the crump of artillery was still distant, but the factories had long since shut down as the city turned into a military camp with restaurants and barbers catering to soldiers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Ghost doesn't flinch at the crump of a shell landing nearby.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2023
We hear the drills and the crump of the digger.
From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2023
With a crump of rending metal, the sheer bow of the 27,100-ton carrier crashed into the starboard side of the 1,630-ton destroyer-minesweeper Hobson.
From Time Magazine Archive
If a crump lands close by there's no need of all of us going!
From A Minstrel in France by Sir Harry Lauder
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.
