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crumbs

 - 4 dictionary results

crumb

  [kruhm]
Use crumbs in a Sentence
–noun
1. a small particle of bread, cake, etc., that has broken off.
2. a small particle or portion of anything; fragment; bit.
3. the soft inner portion of a bread (distinguished from crust ).
4. crumbs, a cake topping made of sugar, flour, butter, and spice, usually crumbled on top of the raw batter and baked with the cake.
5. Slang. a contemptibly objectionable or worthless person.
–verb (used with object)
6. Cookery. to dress or prepare with crumbs.
7. to break into crumbs or small fragments.
8. to remove crumbs from: The waiter crumbed the table.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME crome, crume, OE cruma; akin to D kruim, G Krume crumb, L grūmus heap of earth

Related forms:
crumb⋅a⋅ble, adjective
crumber, noun

Synonyms:
2. scrap, shred, morsel, sliver, speck.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To crumbs
crumb   (krŭm)   
n.  

  1. A very small piece broken from a baked item, such as a cookie, cake, or bread.

  2. A small fragment, scrap, or portion: eraser crumbs; not a crumb of kindness for you.

  3. The soft inner portion of bread.

  4. Slang A contemptible, untrustworthy, or loathsome person.

v.   crumbed, crumb·ing, crumbs

v.   tr.

  1. To break into very small pieces; crumble.

  2. To cover or prepare with very small pieces of bread.

  3. To brush (a table or cloth) clear of small scraps or fragments of food.

v.   intr.
To break apart in very small pieces: a solid cake that won't crumb.

[Middle English crome, from Old English cruma.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
crumb [krəm]

  1. n.
    a repellent person. (From an old slang word for a body louse. Most of the crum(b) entries refer to lice or lousy.) : The old man was a real crumb and tried to cheat us.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

crumb 
O.E. cruma, from a W.Gmc. root of obscure origin. The -b- appeared c.1450, in part by analogy with words like dumb, in part from crumble (q.v.). Slang meaning "lousy person" is 1918, from crumb, U.S. slang for "body-louse" (1863), so called from resemblance.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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