crumble

Everyday

1. To crumble is to break into small pieces. tree →
2. To crumble something is to break it into small pieces with your fingers. tree →
3. A crumble is a baked pudding of fruit covered with a crumbly mix of flour, butter and sugar. tree →
4. To crumble can mean to slowly fall apart or fail. tree →

In the lessons

In cooking lessons pupils rub flour and butter into crumbs to make an apple or rhubarb crumble. In science weathering makes rocks crumble over time; dry soil crumbles. In stories old castle walls crumble. Phrases: apple crumble, crumble into pieces, crumbling walls, that's the way the cookie crumbles (that's life).

Examples

• The dry biscuit crumbled in my hand. tree →
• Crumble the cheese over the salad. tree →
• We made apple crumble with custard. tree →
• The old castle walls are crumbling. tree →
• Frost and rain make rocks crumble. tree →
• Crumble the bread for the ducks. tree →
• His sandcastle crumbled when the wave came. tree →
• 'Crumble those three loaves for the ants,' he said. tree →

Note

Regular verb (crumbled). The noun «crumble» (pudding) is mainly British, Irish, Australian and New Zealand; in the USA a similar dish is called a «crisp» or «cobbler». Small pieces are «crumbs»; «crumbly» describes food that crumbles easily.

In Jewish tradition

In Isaiah the earth itself breaks into pieces.

Interpretation. It is read as part of a vision of the end of days, when God's judgment shakes the world.

Examples

• The earth is broken, broken down, the earth is crumbled in pieces, the earth trembleth and tottereth; (Prophets ISA.24.19, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Regular verb (crumbled). The noun «crumble» (pudding) is mainly British, Irish, Australian and New Zealand; in the USA a similar dish is called a «crisp» or «cobbler». Small pieces are «crumbs»; «crumbly» describes food that crumbles easily.