friable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of friable
First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin friābilis, equivalent to friā(re) “to rub, crumble” + -ābilis -able
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.
The Army Corps, he wrote, “estimates that 50% of the sites on the property contain friable asbestos.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2025
In 1936, the name "Ehlers-Danlos syndrome" was proposed and three cardinal symptoms were identified: joints had to be overly bendy, and skin had to be both stretchy and unusually "friable", meaning it crumbled easily.
From BBC • Sep. 28, 2022
McCarron noted that the friable clay we were walking on would fall apart underfoot in the dry summer months.
From New York Times • Apr. 20, 2022
It’s a joy to see them at work in moist, friable soil once the tarp is removed.
From Washington Post • Mar. 14, 2017
Now there were open fields among the lakes and forests, fields with the crumbly friable soil potatoes love.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
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.
