I. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
an empire crumbles (= loses power gradually )
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The vast empire was beginning to crumble.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
away
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It was all crumbling away in front of him.
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The rafters were green and the floorboards had crumbled away like old green bread.
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And where the old gargoyles are now crumbling away , attempts are being made to replace them, expensive though this is.
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The old Lombard aristocracy was gradually crumbling away except in the far north and the distant south.
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I thought it would crumble away .
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He took it slowly in four-wheel drive, the road much narrower here, the outer edge of it crumbling away .
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Our genes may be immortal but the collection of genes that is any one of us is bound to crumble away .
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But the building is gradually crumbling away , and the local council says it's powerless to do anything about it.
■ NOUN
wall
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The wall was crumbling and there were great gaps in it.
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When the wallpaper was steamed off, some of the walls crumbled .
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It was true - walls were crumbling and she had better make sure that new ones were not built.
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Some had no floor tiles and their walls were crumbling .
■ VERB
begin
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Its support began to crumble alarmingly even in its own working-class strongholds.
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The edifice of pride and power begins to crumble .
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If they switch off and the closed-circuit figures drop, the present heady economics of it all begin to crumble .
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This was not an inaccurate perception as the walls of segregation began to crumble after the war.
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Now the barriers they had sought to erect between philosophy and science began to crumble .
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Once that information began to spread into the community the opposition began to crumble .
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If not, it will begin to crumble anyway.
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When an academic approach is used the theory begins to crumble .
start
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But Gore's meticulous planning was starting to crumble .
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Construction quickly starts crumbling and coming apart.
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Paper will start to peel from the wall, and in the worst cases plaster will start to crumble .
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
that's the way the cookie crumbles
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"Sorry you didn't get the job, Mike." "Yeah, thanks. I guess that's the way the cookie crumbles."
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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Crumble the bacon and set aside.
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Beat the eggs, crumble the cheese, and mix together.
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Briggs resolve crumbled and he reached for the whisky bottle.
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His circle of advisers and associates is crumbling along with his empire.
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Mrs. Suggs crumbled the bread into hot milk.
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Rangoon's old buildings are crumbling from neglect.
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Some of the tiles are crumbling around the edges.
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The autumn leaves crumbled in my fingers.
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The rubber seal is crumbling and will need to be replaced.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Dictator Mobutu Sese Seko's army crumbled, he was toppled, and Kabila was installed in his place.
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It was all crumbling away in front of him.
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Its sister mission in Tumacacori was built of adobe and has crumbled under the weight of the years.
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The old stonework was crumbling and eroded and badly in need of repair.
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They generally crumble after the first flight, leaving the fans only handfuls of tortilla shrapnel for the throwing.
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When donned, it crumbles to dust, but it confers the skills Charm, Mime, Mimic and Seduction.permanently.
II. noun
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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And if he has the nerve, apple crumble with custard.
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Muriel kept a flow of small talk steadily through tomato soup, liver casserole and apple crumble .
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You can also use them in crumbles or tarts, cake and bread mixtures.