crumb /krʌm/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: cruma ]
1 . a very small piece of dry food, especially bread or cake:
She stood up to brush the crumbs off her uniform.
Coat with bread crumbs and bake.
2 . a very small amount of something
crumb of comfort/hope/affection etc
There was only one crumb of comfort – Alex hadn’t said anything to Jeff.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ a small piece
▪ fragment a small piece that has broken off something, especially something hard:
The window shattered, covering them with fragments of glass.
|
They found fragments of bone.
▪ crumb a very small piece of bread, cake etc:
There were just a few crumbs left on the plate.
▪ speck a piece of something such as dirt or dust which is so small you almost cannot see it:
She brushed the specks of dust from the table.
▪ drop a very small amount of a liquid:
There were drops of blood on the floor.
|
I felt a drop of rain.