Crumbs are tiny pieces that fall from bread, biscuits, or cake when you cut it or eat it.
I stood up, brushing crumbs from my trousers.
Synonyms: bit, grain, particle, fragment More Synonyms of crumb
2. countable noun
A crumbof something, for example information, is a very small amount of it.
At last Andrew gave them a crumb of information. [+ of]
The government were able to draw a few crumbs of comfort from today's unemploymentfigures.
More Synonyms of crumb
crumb in British English
(krʌm)
noun
1.
a small fragment of bread, cake, or other baked foods
2.
a small piece or bit
crumbs of information
3.
the soft inner part of bread
4. slang
a contemptible person
verb
5. (transitive)
to prepare or cover (food) with breadcrumbs
6.
to break into small fragments
adjective
7.
(esp of pie crusts) made with a mixture of biscuit crumbs, sugar, etc
Derived forms
crumber (ˈcrumber)
noun
Word origin
Old English cruma; related to Middle Dutch krome, Middle High German krūme, Latin grūmus heap of earth
crumb in American English
(krʌm)
noun
1.
a very small piece broken off something; small particle or bit, esp. of bread, cake, etc.
2.
any bit or scrap
crumbs of knowledge
3.
the soft part of bread within the crust
4. US, Slang
a worthless, disgusting, or despicable person
: also ˈcrumˈbum
verb transitive
5. Rare
to crumble
6.
to clear of crumbs
to crumb a table
7. Cookery
to cover or thicken with crumbs
Word origin
ME crome < OE cruma, lit., scraping from bread crust, akin to Ger krume < IE *gr-eu, to scratch, scrape (> Ger krauen, to scratch) < base *ger-, to turn, twist
Examples of 'crumb' in a sentence
crumb
Coat each piece in the crumbs then drizzle with the olive oil.
The Sun (2017)
Nice thought, but it only makes crumbs.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Using a fork, dip each chicken piece into the egg whites then into the crumb mixture to coat.
The Sun (2017)
Blitz the biscuits in a food processor 2 until they resemble fine crumbs, then add to the melted butter.
The Sun (2016)
Fry the crumbs in the butter over a medium heat until crisp.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Mix well then tip the crumb mixture into the cake tin.
The Sun (2014)
Scatter remaining cheese mixed with crumbs over the top.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
There was not a crumb of food in the house.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The text is also mottled by tea stains and biscuit crumbs.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
There were no crumbs of comfort from this wretched display.
The Sun (2006)
Press the fillets into the crumbs to cover the mustard.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Put the biscuits in a bowl or a plastic bag and crush them to small crumbs.
The Sun (2014)
Coat the whole thing with the cake crumbs.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Sift the icing sugar over the crumbs.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Rub the butter into the mixture with your fingers until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Use the end of a rolling pin to press the crumbs down to make a firm base.
The Sun (2012)
Let the crumb mixture stand while preparing the fruit.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Mix the crumbs with remaining cheese and scatter over the top.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Imagine a crumb of food with one of these bugs on it getting stuck on the keyboard.
The Sun (2010)
Stir in the biscuit crumbs and mix together.
The Sun (2016)
Place in a food processor and chop to small crumbs.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Brush any excess crumbs from the cake and turn the cake upside down.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
There are some crumbs of comfort.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
For the loving dad, there was only one small crumb of comfort.
The Sun (2008)
To make the crumble topping, blitz the flour and butter to crumbs in a food processor.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
They can squeeze between and push apart the soil crumbs, and one worm alone can move a stone fifty times its own weight.
Thompkins, Peter, Bird, Christopher Secrets of the Soil (1990)
The contents are secret, but there are a few crumbs of information: the commercial will contain real people rather than animation.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Dip the fillets into the flour, shaking off excess, swipe through the egg and then press into the crumbs to cover.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Yesterday, the first chapter was published on the internet, stoking more hunger for the few crumbs of information we have about it.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
In other languages
crumb
British English: crumb /krʌm/ NOUN
Crumbs are tiny pieces that fall from bread, biscuits, or cake when you cut or eat them.
I stood up, brushing crumbs from my trousers.
American English: crumb
Arabic: فُتَات
Brazilian Portuguese: migalha
Chinese: 碎屑
Croatian: mrvica
Czech: drobek
Danish: krumme
Dutch: kruimel
European Spanish: miga
Finnish: murunen
French: miette
German: Krümel
Greek: ψίχουλο
Italian: briciola
Japanese: パン粉
Korean: 부스러기
Norwegian: smule
Polish: okruszyna
European Portuguese: migalha
Romanian: fărâmitură
Russian: крошка
Latin American Spanish: miga
Swedish: smula
Thai: เศษเล็กเศษน้อย
Turkish: ekmek kırıntısı
Ukrainian: крихта
Vietnamese: vụn bánh mì
Chinese translation of 'crumb'
crumb
(krʌm)
n(c)
[of bread, cake]碎屑 (suìxiè) (个(個), gè)
[of information, comfort]一点(點)点(點) (yīdiǎndiǎn)
1 (noun)
Definition
a small fragment of bread or other dry food
I stood up, brushing crumbs from my trousers.
Synonyms
bit
a bit of cake
grain
a grain of sand
particle
Particles of food can get stuck between the teeth.
fragment
She read everything, digesting every fragment of news.
shred
Cut the cabbage into fine long shreds.
speck
He leaned forward and brushed a speck of dust off his shoes.
sliver
A sliver of glass was embedded in the skin.
morsel
a delicious little morsel of meat
2 (noun)
Definition
a small bit or scrap
There is one crumb of comfort – at least we've still got each other.