n. [ AS. cruma, akin to D. kruim, G. krume; cf. G. krauen to scratch, claw. ] [ Written also crum. ] 1. A small fragment or piece; especially, a small piece of bread or other food, broken or cut off. [ 1913 Webster ]

Desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Luke xvi. 21. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Fig.: A little; a bit; as, a crumb of comfort. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The soft part of bread. [ 1913 Webster ]

Dust unto dust, what must be, must;
If you can't get crumb, you'd best eat crust. Old Song. [ 1913 Webster ]

Crumb brush, a brush for sweeping crumbs from a table. --
To a crum, with great exactness; completely. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Crumbed p. pr. & vb. n. Crumbing ] To break into crumbs or small pieces with the fingers; as, to crumb bread. [ Written also crum. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A cloth to be laid under a dining table to receive falling fragments, and keep the carpet or floor clean. [ Written also crumcloth. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Crumbled p. pr. & vb. n. Crumbling ] [ Dim. of crumb, v. t., akin to D. kruimelen G. krümeln. ] To break into small pieces; to cause to fall in pieces. [ 1913 Webster ]

He with his bare wand can unthread thy joints,
And crumble all thy sinews. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To fall into small pieces; to break or part into small fragments; hence, to fall to decay or ruin; to become disintegrated; to perish. [ 1913 Webster ]

If the stone is brittle, it will crumble and pass into the form of gravel. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

The league deprived of its principal supports must soon crumble to pieces. Prescott. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. broken into small fragments; as, crumbled cookies.
Syn. -- fragmented. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Easily crumbled; friable; brittle. “The crumbly soil.” Hawthorne.
Syn. -- crimp. [ 1913 Webster ]