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.

Venezuela’s oil industry has been crumbling for years, and U.S. oil companies have been hit in the past by that country’s expropriations of assets.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 9, 2026

"The old paradigm that people lived at Poverty Point continuously for centuries has been crumbling, and we needed a new framework."

From Science Daily • Nov. 24, 2025

He’s the only solid building block on a foundation that has been crumbling over that time.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2019

The global anti-drug regime has been in place for more than a half-century now, but the prohibitionist consensus has been crumbling for at least 20 years, and the decomposition continued apace this year.

From Salon • Dec. 30, 2015

The sidewalk in front of our building has been crumbling for years, and no one has ever bothered to fix it.

From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez