crust

noun

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\ ˈkrəst

Definition of crust

1a : the hardened exterior or surface part of bread

b : a piece of this or of bread grown dry or hard

2a : the pastry shell of a pie : piecrust

b : the bready layer that forms the foundation of a pizza

3 : a hard or brittle external coat or covering: such as

a : a hard surface layer (as of soil or snow)

b : the outer part of a planet, moon, or asteroid composed essentially of crystalline rocks

c : a deposit built up on the interior surface of a wine bottle during long aging

d : an encrusting deposit (as of the eye) of dried secretions or exudate also : scab

4 : gall, nerve

Other Words from crust Synonyms Example Sentences Phrases Containing crust Learn More About crust

Other Words from crust

crust verb

crustal \ ˈkrə-stᵊl

\ adjective

crustless \ ˈkrəs(t)-ləs

\ adjective

Examples of crust in a Sentence

Her children prefer to eat their sandwiches with the crust cut off. a pie with flaky crust He likes pizza with thin crust.

Recent Examples on the Web Perry said about 75% of the bed has a protective crust. — Leia Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune, 13 May 2022 The chock-full-of-nuts creation sits on a crust made extra flaky by the addition of vodka. — Leslie Kelly, Forbes, 1 May 2022 On another plot, Woolley and her team have created a crust using microbes, inspired by what’s already found in nature. — Stephanie Innes, The Arizona Republic, 29 Apr. 2022 The Guardians, however, have built another team topped with a thin crust of elite talent followed by hopes and dreams and at least a couple of players who aren’t going to be here after the rosters are reduced to 26 players on May 2. — Paul Hoynes, cleveland, 28 Apr. 2022 Typically very rich because of the high fat content, these cakes may or may not have a bottom crumb crust. — Charlyne Mattox, Country Living, 21 Apr. 2022 The March morning had dawned clear and cold, suggesting the snow cover in the mountains would present a crust that would support Winchester’s weight. — Steve Meyer, Anchorage Daily News, 16 Apr. 2022 The wheat loaf had a thick crust but had a texture that was almost too aerated. — PEOPLE.com, 15 Apr. 2022 Six inches of powder, the kind skiers live for, piled atop a crust of ice from a blast of freezing rain that had arrived in Michigan earlier in the day. — Rich Ceppos, Car and Driver, 1 Apr. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'crust.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for crust

Middle English crouste, cruste, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French cruste, crouste, going back to Latin crusta "hard coating or surface layer, shell of an arthropod or crustacean, mineral flake, stone slab used in paneling," perhaps, if going back to *krus-to- "something crushed or pounded into a hard layer," from a zero-grade nominal derivative of Indo-European *kreu̯s- "beat, crush, pound," whence also Old English hruse "earth, ground," Old High German roso, rosa "crust, layer of ice" (going back to Germanic *hrusōn-) — more at anacrusis

Note: The hypothetical base *krus-to- is suggested by Michiel de Vaan, Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the Other Italic Languages (Leiden: Brill, 2008), p. 147, though the older handbooks (Walde-Hoffman, Ernout-Meillet) tend to support a connection with Greek krýos "icy cold, frost" and other derivatives, going back to a presumed homonymous *krus- (see cryo-). As de Vaan points out, however, Latin crusta does not mean "ice." The original sense of the Germanic noun *hrusōn- is not certain. Greek krýstallos "ice, rock crystal" is almost certainly unrelated (see crystal entry 1).