[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/crumbly/)

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# crumbly

adjective (crumbly, crumblier, crumbliest)

«crumbly» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Something crumbly breaks easily into small pieces called crumbs. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crumbly/#m1)
2. Crumbly can also describe soil, rock or old walls that fall apart easily. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crumbly/#m2)

### 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 →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crumbly/#x1)
- Wensleydale is a crumbly white cheese. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crumbly/#x2)
- The gardener said the soil should be dark and crumbly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crumbly/#x3)
- The crumbly old wall was not safe to climb. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crumbly/#x4)
- Chalk is a soft, crumbly rock. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crumbly/#x5)
- My cake was too crumbly to cut into neat slices. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crumbly/#x6)
- Crumbly bits of biscuit fell all over the sofa. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crumbly/#x7)

### 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».

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «crumbly» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crumbly/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«crumbly» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/crumbly.html) on Mova free.