crum·ble | \ ˈkrəm-bəl 
\
\crumbled; crumbling\ ˈkrəm-b(ə-)liŋ \
\Definition of crumble
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to break into small pieces
1 : to fall into small pieces : disintegrate
2 : to break down completely : collapse marriages crumble
crumble
nounDefinition of crumble (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : something crumbled : fine debris
2 : crisp sense 2
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Synonyms & Antonyms for crumble
Synonyms: Verb
- atrophy,
- decay,
- decline,
- degenerate,
- descend,
- deteriorate,
- devolve,
- ebb,
- regress,
- retrograde,
- rot,
- sink,
- worsen
Antonyms: Verb
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Examples of crumble in a Sentence
Verb Crumble the cookies into small bits.
The recipe calls for the herbs to be crumbled.
bones so old they had crumbled to dust
She was extremely depressed after her marriage crumbled.
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Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Observations suggest many of these boulders are porous, almost fluffy, and would crumble if touched.
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Paul Voosen, Science | AAAS, "A NASA mission is about to capture carbon-rich dust from a former water world," 8 Oct. 2020 And the ending sequence, when Cousins was undone by a couple of quick pressures and a bad snap from center Garrett Bradbury, showed how this Vikings offense can crumble in obvious passing situations.
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Star Tribune, "Vikings spotlight: Kirk Cousins," 27 Sep. 2020 The Wall of Moms would eventually crumble following allegations that its founder centered the experiences of white women over Black, native and other women of color.
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oregonlive, "100 Days of Protests in Portland," 5 Sep. 2020 In this excerpt from her new memoir, Friends and Enemies, Amiel recalls the season when her world began to crumble.
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Barbara Amiel, Town & Country, "Lady Black's Revenge: An Explosive New Memoir Reveals the Fallout of a High Society Scandal," 20 Sep. 2020 An emergency crew rescued two people on Dauphin Island, Alabama, after the hurricane ripped the roof off their home and the rest of the house began to crumble.
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Jay Reeves, Star Tribune, "At least 1 dead, hundreds rescued after Hurricane Sally," 16 Sep. 2020 Researchers are already working to shore up the foundations of data security, which could crumble at the hands of a fully functional quantum computer in time to come.
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Robert Hackett, Fortune, "IBM plans a huge leap in superfast quantum computing by 2030," 15 Sep. 2020 And on top of that, Queen Maeve was starting to crumble in season 1.
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Rachel Paige, refinery29.com, "What You Actually Need To Remember From The Boys Season 1," 6 Sep. 2020 An emergency crew rescued two people on Dauphin Island, Alabama, after the hurricane ripped the roof off their home and the rest of the house began to crumble.
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Jay Reeves, The Salt Lake Tribune, "At least 1 dead, hundreds rescued after Hurricane Sally," 17 Sep. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun From plums and peaches to blueberries and cherries, any summer fruit can get tossed into this crumble.
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Washington Post, "With less sugar, these cobblers, crisps and crumbles let their fruit flavors shine brighter," 26 Aug. 2020 Kim Brady, the chief financial officer of an under-the-radar commercial-truck startup, watched Plan A to raise $1 billion crumble last year after private markets grew wary of pumping money into untested companies.
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John D. Stoll, WSJ, "Nikola and DraftKings Needed Financing. They Found a Blank Check," 14 Aug. 2020 Whisk together hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and black pepper. Pour mixture over chicken crumbles and cook, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid has evaporated; 5 to 8 minutes.
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Darlene Zimmerman, Detroit Free Press, "Asian Chicken Noodle Bowl is perfect make-ahead meal," 16 May 2020 And that included chef Rey Morales’ habanero mac and cheese ― rigatoni pasta decked with bacon crumbles, green onions and toasted panko breadcrumbs.
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Nick Rallo, Dallas News, "Craving mac and cheese? Try our 7 favorites at these Dallas-area restaurants," 15 May 2020 Add in tempeh crumbles, sliced Persian cucumbers, chopped cabbage, or shredded chicken.
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Aliza Abarbanel, Bon Appétit, "How to Turn One Blender Sauce Into a Week’s-Worth of Delicious Meals," 26 Mar. 2020 Trying to squeeze the water out with your hands can end in crumbles more suited for a tofu scramble, but this BPA-free tub, strainer, and press will slowly squish the water out of your block while preserving its shape.
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Popular Science, "Five kitchen essentials for a vegan and vegetarian lifestyle," 27 Dec. 2019 That’s when the method for these tofu crumbles came into our lives.
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Carla Lalli Music, Bon Appétit, "Vegetarian Cooking Can Feel Hard, But This Crispy Tofu Is Easy," 27 Feb. 2020 Desserts on offer are strawberry rhubarb crumble, carrot cake, New York cheesecake and chocolate silk pie.
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Ramona Saviss, The Hollywood Reporter, "Where to Order Easter Brunch and Dinner in Los Angeles," 3 Apr. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'crumble.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for crumble
crumble
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of crumble
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to break (something) into small pieces
: to separate into many small pieces : to fall apart
: to break down completely : to stop functioning
crumble
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of crumble (Entry 2 of 2)
US : small pieces of something that has been crumbled
See the full definition for crumble in the English Language Learners Dictionary
crumble
verbcrum·ble | \ ˈkrəm-bəl \
\crumbled; crumbling
Kids Definition of crumble
1 : to break into small pieces
crumble bread
2 : to fall to pieces : fall into ruin
Any moment these walls may crumble upon us …— Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee
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Time Traveler for crumble
The first known use of crumble was in 1547
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