(~s, crumbling, ~d)
1.
If something ~s, or if you ~ it, it breaks into a lot of small pieces.
Under the pressure, the flint ~d into fragments...
Roughly ~ the cheese into a bowl.
VERB: V, V n
2.
If an old building or piece of land is crumbling, parts of it keep breaking off.
The high and low-rise apartment blocks built in the 1960s are crumbling...
The cliffs were estimated to be crumbling into the sea at the rate of 10ft an hour.
= disintegrate
VERB: V, V prep/adv
•
Crumble away means the same as ~ .
Britain’s coastline stretches 4000 kilometres and much of it is crumbling away.
PHRASAL VERB: V P
3.
If something such as a system, relationship, or hope ~s, it comes to an end.
Their economy ~d under the weight of United Nations sanctions...
VERB: V
•
Crumble away means the same as ~ .
Opposition more or less ~d away.
PHRASAL VERB
4.
If someone ~s, they stop resisting or trying to win, or become unable to cope.
He is a skilled and ruthless leader who isn’t likely to ~ under pressure.
VERB: V
5.
A ~ is a baked pudding made from fruit covered with a mixture of flour, butter, and sugar. (BRIT)
...apple ~.
N-VAR: usu n N