crumb

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a very small quantity of something

   I gave only a crumb of information about my plans.

2. 2
   verb

   to remove crumbs from

   crumb the table

3. 3
   verb

   to coat with bread crumbs

   crumb a cutlet

4. 4
   noun

   A small piece which breaks off from baked food (such as cake, biscuit or bread).

   The pigeons were happily pecking at crumbs of bread on the ground.

5. 5
   noun

   A small piece of any other solid substance.

   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.

6. 6
   noun

   A bit, small amount.

   a crumb of comfort

7. 7
   noun

   Ellipsis of crumb rubber.

   Production of rubber granules, or crumb, is well-established in this country.

8. 8
   noun

   The soft internal portion of bread, surrounded by crust.

   Dust unto dust, what must be, must; / If you can't get crumb, you'd best eat crust.

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, giblet…