crumble

verb

1. 1

   figurativeTo fall apart; to disintegrate.

   The bread roll crumbled when I tried to slice it; it was too stale.

   The empire crumbled when the ruler's indiscretions came to light.

   Weren't you the one who tried to hurt me with goodbye? / Did you think I'd crumble? Did you think I'd lay down and die?

   In 1989, as communism was beginning to crumble across Eastern Europe, just a few months before protesters started pecking away at the Berlin Wall, the Japanese game-making giant Nintendo reached across the world to unleash upon America its own version of freedom.

2. 2

   To break into crumbs.

   We crumbled some bread into the water.

3. 3

   To mix (ingredients such as flour and butter) in such a way as to form crumbs.

   Using your fingers, crumble the ingredients with the fingertips, lifting in an upward motion, until the mixture is sandy and resembles large breadcrumbs.

noun

1. 1

   A dessert of British origin containing stewed fruit topped with a crumbly mixture of fat, flour, and sugar.

   blackberry and apple crumble

Forms

plural

crumbles

past tense

crumbled

past participle

crumbled

present participle

crumbling

third person singular

crumbles