crumbly

Everyday

1. Something crumbly breaks easily into small pieces called crumbs. tree →
2. Crumbly can also describe soil, rock or old walls that fall apart easily. tree →

In the lessons

In cooking, crumbly describes cakes, biscuits, scones and some cheeses. In science, crumbly rocks and soils are easy to break and weather fast. In stories, a crumbly old castle wall tells the reader it is very old and maybe unsafe. Common phrases: «crumbly biscuit», «crumbly cheese», «crumbly soil», «crumbly old wall», «nice and crumbly».

Examples

• The shortbread was soft and crumbly. tree →
• Wensleydale is a crumbly white cheese. tree →
• The gardener said the soil should be dark and crumbly. tree →
• The crumbly old wall was not safe to climb. tree →
• Chalk is a soft, crumbly rock. tree →
• My cake was too crumbly to cut into neat slices. tree →
• Crumbly bits of biscuit fell all over the sofa. tree →

Note

Comparative: crumblier, crumbliest. Built from «crumble» + «-y». «A crumble» is also a pudding (apple crumble). Crumbly is the opposite of «sticky», «chewy» or «firm».