C1verbnaturehistory
US/ˈkrʌm.bəl/
UK/ˈkrʌm.bəl/
to break into small pieces, or to slowly fail or fall apart
In context
The old stone wall began to crumble after years of rain.
She crumbled the cookie into her bowl of yogurt.
Their hopes of winning crumbled when the star player was injured.
Words that go with crumble
verb + preposition
- crumble into dustThe ancient paper crumbled into dust.
- crumble under pressureThe team crumbled under pressure in the final.
verb + adverb
- crumble awayThe cliff is slowly crumbling away.
adjective + noun
- crumbling wallA crumbling wall surrounded the garden.
- crumbling infrastructureMany old cities struggle with crumbling infrastructure and leaking pipes.
- crumbling economyThe government struggled to save the crumbling economy.