breadcrumb

noun

bread·​crumb ˈbred-ˌkrəm 

variants or bread crumb

plural breadcrumbs or bread crumbs

1

: a small fragment or crumb of bread

left breadcrumbs all over the table

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan over a medium heat—it's at the correct temperature when a breadcrumb dropped into the hot oil sizzles and turns light golden.

—Bre Graham

especially : a fragment of stale, hard, or dried bread that has been crushed or ground for use in cooking

Meatballs are often made with breadcrumbs, which help bind the meat and other ingredients together …

—Lauren Salkeld

A sprinkling of bread crumbs or grated cheese, and dots of butter, help to form a light brown covering … over the sauce.

—Simone Beck et al.

2

: something (such as a hint or clue) that serves to lead or guide

Spotting a couple of gas planets in another solar system is … an important bread crumb in the search for life in the universe.

—Marina Koren

… I love how the movie drops breadcrumbs to support the conclusion that Kris Kringle is, or isn't, the real Santa.

—Odie Henderson

… the latest auteur to take the reins of the franchise … has transformed our hero into a hard-boiled detective following a trail of bread crumbs left by a serial killer.

—Miles Surrey

Examples of breadcrumb in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In the wild, ants communicate via pheromones — chemical breadcrumbs that signal where to walk or where to dig. —Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 20 Apr. 2026

In the days following, breadcrumbs of information about Paul’s 2023 domestic violence arrest entered the news cycle, with the final nail in the coffin arriving on March 19 when a video of Paul throwing barstools at Mortensen with her daughter present was leaked to TMZ. —Mckinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 15 Apr. 2026

Lemon and parmesan-y breadcrumbs are the finishing touch. —Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 15 Apr. 2026

And so prediction markets, for all their flaws, can lead directly to the doorstep of those profiting from privileged information—prosecutors need only follow the breadcrumbs. —Nic Puckrin, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

bread entry 1 + crumb entry 1; (sense 2) after the crumbs dropped to mark a return path out of the forest in the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel

First Known Use

circa 1529, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for breadcrumb

• become
• checksum
• humdrum
• income
• outcome
• succumb
• therefrom
• wherefrom
• abomasum
• bum
• chum
• come