adjective
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having or characterized by a crust, esp having a thick crust
-
having a rude or harsh character or exterior; surly; curt
a crusty remark
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of crusty
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at crust, -y 1
Explanation
The adjective crusty is good for describing something that is crisp on the outside, like a loaf of French bread. You can describe something with a crunchy outer layer and a softer inside as crusty, but you can also use the word to mean "crabby" or "ill-tempered." Your mean old neighbor who yells at kids to get off his lawn is crusty, for example. While the literal meaning is older, this "cranky or surly" meaning has been around since the 1500s. The root of both is the Latin crusta, "rind, crust, shell or bark."
Vocabulary lists containing crusty
Out of the Dust
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The Secret Garden
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When I Was the Greatest
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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:
And sometimes — the true jackpot — there’s a crusty half-loaf of sourdough, which instantly checks off one of my weekly anchor ingredients for just a few dollars.
From Salon ● May 22, 2026
Contrary to the crusty, chaotic libertinism of their shows, the band is disarmingly sweet and funny in person despite being duly crude.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2026
Unusually dry conditions and unseasonably high temperatures are making Augusta National’s greens “firm, crusty, and bouncy” for the Masters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
Similar to onions and a hollowed loaf of crusty bread, you most definitely can stuff a tomato.
From Salon ● Apr. 6, 2026
The crusty old man helped little Ladd dismount, telling him, “You go on inside out of the rain, Sonny, while I tend to these horses.”
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
For a crustier roll, choose a lean dough.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2021
The result is something vaguely like a seasoned fry, but a bit crustier and cakier, with a taste of dried onion and black pepper.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2019
At one public meeting, a white-haired man – one of the crustier opposing voices – tripped and fell, and Khalil rushed across the room, thinking he might need medical assistance.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 8, 2018
Crust: The base of this margherita — which must be special-ordered — is crustier and sweeter than those found at traditional Neapolitan pizzerias.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 10, 2017
Aye, lad, I've got a tough load to carry just now—thee mustna take it ill if I'm a bit silenter and crustier nor usual.
From Adam Bede by George Eliot
But what makes or breaks Uber is the same as the crustiest old taxi cartel: the drivers making the trips.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2023
It should be clear now too, to even the crustiest of old dinosaurs, that it’s not about lecturing women to toughen up, and learn to brush off wandering paws more lightly.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 31, 2017
If Seattle Symphony maestro Ludovic Morlot and his band really hit it out of the ballpark, even the crustiest crowd may get carried away clapping, too.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 9, 2016
Just before the Reagan-Thatcher years, her parents moved to London and bought a maisonette in Belgravia, home to England’s crustiest upper crust and even to Margaret Thatcher herself.
From New York Times ● Nov. 2, 2011
At Christmas sometimes the children sing carols, not with much success so far as melody goes, but otherwise successfully enough; for recollections of the past soften the hearts of the crustiest.
From Wild Life in a Southern County by Richard Jefferies
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.
