I. ˈkrəm noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English crumme, from Old English cruma; akin to Middle High German krume crumb, Middle Dutch crume, Icelandic krumur soft inside, Old High German krouwōn to scratch, Latin grumus pile of dirt, Greek grymea bag, trash, fish remnants, Albanian grime crumb; basic meaning: something scratched together; akin to Old English cradol cradle — more at cradle
1. : a small fragment or piece ; especially : a very small piece of bread or other food broken or rubbed off
2. : a little : bit
a crumb of comfort
3. : the soft part of bread — opposed to crust
if you can't get crumb , you'd best eat crust
4. : any material resembling bread crumb: as
a. : loose friable soil
b. : shredded alkali cellulose
5.
a. : body louse
b. slang : a worthless person
6. crumbs plural : a mixture of sugar, butter, and flour used as a topping on pastry (as coffee cake)
•
- to a crumb
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English crummen, from crumme, n.
1. : to break into crumbs
crumb bread
2. : to cover, thicken, or dress with crumbs
3. : to remove crumbs from
crumb the table