crumble
crum|ble /kr'ʌmbəl/ (crumbles crumbling crumbled)
1 [VERB] V, V n
If something crumbles, or if you crumble it, it breaks into a lot of small pieces.
Under the pressure, the flint crumbled into fragments...
Roughly crumble the cheese into a bowl.
2 [VERB] V, V prep/adv
If an old building or piece of land is crumbling, parts of it keep breaking off.
The high and low-rise apartment blocks built in the 1960s are crumbling...
The cliffs were estimated to be crumbling into the sea at the rate of 10ft an hour.
= disintegrate
[PHRASAL VERB] V P
Crumble away means the same as crumble.
Britain's coastline stretches 4000 kilometres and much of it is crumbling away.
3 [VERB] V
If something such as a system, relationship, or hope crumbles, it comes to an end.
Their economy crumbled under the weight of United Nations sanctions...
[PHRASAL VERB]
Crumble away means the same as crumble.
Opposition more or less crumbled away.
4 [VERB] V
If someone crumbles, they stop resisting or trying to win, or become unable to cope.
He is a skilled and ruthless leader who isn't likely to crumble under pressure.
5 [N-VAR] usu n N
A crumble is a baked pudding made from fruit covered with a mixture of flour, butter, and sugar. (BRIT)
...apple crumble.crumble away
see crumble 2, 3
1 [VERB] V, V n
If something crumbles, or if you crumble it, it breaks into a lot of small pieces.
Under the pressure, the flint crumbled into fragments...
Roughly crumble the cheese into a bowl.
2 [VERB] V, V prep/adv
If an old building or piece of land is crumbling, parts of it keep breaking off.
The high and low-rise apartment blocks built in the 1960s are crumbling...
The cliffs were estimated to be crumbling into the sea at the rate of 10ft an hour.
= disintegrate
[PHRASAL VERB] V P
Crumble away means the same as crumble.
Britain's coastline stretches 4000 kilometres and much of it is crumbling away.
3 [VERB] V
If something such as a system, relationship, or hope crumbles, it comes to an end.
Their economy crumbled under the weight of United Nations sanctions...
[PHRASAL VERB]
Crumble away means the same as crumble.
Opposition more or less crumbled away.
4 [VERB] V
If someone crumbles, they stop resisting or trying to win, or become unable to cope.
He is a skilled and ruthless leader who isn't likely to crumble under pressure.
5 [N-VAR] usu n N
A crumble is a baked pudding made from fruit covered with a mixture of flour, butter, and sugar. (BRIT)
...apple crumble.crumble away
see crumble 2, 3