crumble

Plural: crumbles

Verb

Verb Forms: crumbled, crumbling, crumbles

To break or fall apart into small fragments or particles.
fall apart
- "the building crumbled after the explosion"
break or fall apart into fragments
- "The cookies crumbled"
fall into decay or ruin
To fall apart; to disintegrate.
To break into crumbs.
To mix (ingredients such as flour and butter) in such a way as to form crumbs.

Noun

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

Examples

blackberry and apple crumble
His strategy began to CRUMBLE after a crucial challenge failed in Words With Friends.
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.
Using your fingers, crumble the ingredients with the fingertips, lifting in an upward motion, until the mixture is sandy and resembles large breadcrumbs.
We crumbled some bread into the water.

Origin / Etymology

From earlier crymble, crimble, from Middle English *crymblen, kremelen, from Old English *crymlan (“to crumble”), from *crymel (“a small crumb; crumble”), diminutive of Old English cruma (“crumb”), equivalent to crumb + -le (diminutive suffix). Compare Dutch kruimelen (“to crumble”), German Low German krömmeln (“to crumble”), German Krümel, diminutive of German Krume, German krümeln, krümmeln (“to crumble”). Alteration of vowel due to analogy with crumb.

Synonyms

break down, collapse, crumple, decay, dilapidate, fall apart, tumble, crisp, crunch

Scrabble Score: 13

crumble: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
crumble: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
crumble: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 18

crumble: valid Words With Friends Word