crumb
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /kɹʌm/
rhymes: -ʌm
Forms: form: crumbs
form: crimb
form: crum
Etymology: From Middle English crome, cromme, crumme, crume, from Old English cruma (“crumb, fragment”), from Proto-Germanic *krumô, *krūmô (“fragment, crumb”), from Proto-Indo-European *grū-mo- (“something scraped together, lumber, junk; to claw, scratch”), from *ger- (“to turn, bend, twist, wind”). The b is unetymological, as in limb, appearing in the mid-15th century to match crumble and words like dumb, numb, thumb. Cognate with Dutch kruim (“crumb”), Low German Krome, Krume (“crumb”), German Krume (“crumb”), Danish krumme (“crumb”), Swedish dialectal krumma (“crumb”), Swedish inkråm (“crumbs, giblets”), Icelandic krumur (“crumb”), Latin grūmus (“a little heap”).
Senses: examples: text: The pigeons were happily pecking at crumbs of bread on the ground.
text: desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 16:21:
text: At twilight in the summer there is never anybody to fear—man, woman, or cat—in the chambers and at that hour the mice come out. They do not eat parchment or foolscap or red tape, but they eat the luncheon crumbs.
ref: 1892, Walter Besant, chapter II, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC:
synonyms: crumbling
crumblet
glosses: A small piece which breaks off from baked food (such as cake, biscuit or bread).
examples: text: Then erase any pencil lines with a good, soft eraser, rubbing gently, in only one direction. A dustbrush can be useful in removing any eraser crumbs.
ref: 2012, Caroline Joy Adams, An Italic Calligraphy Handbook, page 79:
synonyms: word: chip
word: crumbling
word: bit
word: chip
word: chunk
word: clip
word: crumb
word: crumbling
word: cutting
word: flake
word: fleak
word: fragment
word: hunk
word: lump
word: mammock
word: ort
word: piece
word: piecemeal
word: portion
word: scrap
word: scraplet
word: slice
word: snead
word: snippet
word: steck
glosses: A small piece of any other solid substance.
examples: text: a crumb of comfort
synonyms: word: grain
word: morsel
word: ace
word: tinge
word: atom
word: trace element
word: aught
word: bissel
word: bit
word: crumb
word: glimpse
word: dab
word: damn
word: dash
word: diddly
word: glint
word: dot
word: spatter
word: drop
word: dusting
word: fleck
word: hint
word: flip
word: flyspeck
word: grain
word: halfpennyworth
word: inch
word: iota
word: jot
word: lick
word: mite
word: modicum
word: molecule
word: morceau
word: morsel
word: mote
word: ooch
word: ounce
word: particle
word: pennyworth
word: piece
word: pinch
word: scantling
word: semblance
word: scent
word: scintilla
word: scooch
word: scrap
word: scruple
word: shred
word: skerrick
word: skoosh
word: skosh
word: sliver
word: smattering
word: smidge
word: smidgen
word: smidget
word: smidgy
word: smitch
word: smithereen
word: soupçon
word: spark
word: speck
word: speckle
word: spot
word: sprinkle
word: sprinkling
word: strain
word: tad
word: tidbit
word: tidge
word: tittle
word: toddick
word: touch
word: trace
word: trifle
word: tuppence worth
word: vestige
word: whiff
word: whit
glosses: A bit, small amount.
examples: text: Production of rubber granules, or crumb, is well-established in this country.
ref: 2007, R. E. Hester, R. M. Harrison, Waste Treatment and Disposal, page 109:
glosses: Ellipsis of crumb rubber.
examples: text: Dust unto dust, what must be, must; / If you can't get crumb, you'd best eat crust.
ref: 1861, Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford:
glosses: The soft internal portion of bread, surrounded by crust.
glosses: A mixture of sugar, cocoa and milk, used to make industrial chocolate.
examples: text: All Dad can think of is a gift certificate from the Melody Inn? And my crumb of a boyfriend doesn't even show up? This is a birthday?
ref: 1999, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Alice on the Outside, page 146:
synonyms: word: loser
word: quidam
word: absolute zero
word: also-ran
word: chopped liver
word: cipher
word: crumb
word: Joe Nobody
word: little guy
word: minnow
word: nebbish
word: nobody
word: no one
word: nothing
word: nothingburger
word: nonentity
word: picayune
word: pip-squeak
word: pleb
word: peon
word: prole
word: puny
word: quidam
word: rinky-dink
word: shrimp
word: wankstain
word: zero
word: zilch
word: absolute zero
word: asswipe
word: badling
word: blatherskite
word: bugger
word: carrion
word: cipher
word: cockstain
word: crumb
word: custron
word: dandiprat
word: doink
word: fellow
word: fritlag
word: geek
word: good-for-naught
word: good-for-nothing
word: hoon
word: lidderon
word: losel
word: loser
word: louse
word: maggot
word: nonce
word: nowmun
word: ne'er-do-well
word: no-good
word: no-mark
word: nonentity
word: pelf
word: pig dog
word: pile of shit
word: pissant
word: punk
word: puny
word: quat
word: ramp
word: rinky-dink
word: roly-poly
word: scullion
word: slubberdegullion
word: sparrow-fart
word: streak of piss
word: toerag
word: truant
word: twerp
word: wankstain
word: waste of space
word: underperson
word: unworthy
glosses: A nobody; a worthless person.
glosses: A body louse (Pediculus humanus).
Derived terms: breadcrumb
bread crumb
by crumbs
cakecrumb
cake crumbs
crumbable
crumb cake
crumbcloth
crumb-cruncher
crumb cruncher
crumb-crusher
crumb crusher
crumber
crumb grinder
crumble
crumbless
crumblet
crumblike
crumb rubber
crumb snatcher
crumbum
crumby
crummy
decrumb
eat and leave no crumbs
leave no crumbs
pick up one's crumbs
toastcrumb
Related terms: crumble
crumpet
crumbum