crump

1 of 3

verb

crumped; crumping; crumps

intransitive verb

1
: crunch
2
: to explode heavily

crump

2 of 3

noun

1
: a crunching sound
2
: shell, bomb

crump

3 of 3

adjective

chiefly Scotland

Examples of crump in a Sentence

Verb one aerial bomb failed to crump as it landed
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Verb
Photos of the wreck show the PT Cruiser mangled almost beyond recognition, with its front end completely crumped. Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 5 Sep. 2023
Noun
The sound of impact was remarkable: a plasticky, irrevocable, cold-blooded, bad-news crump. James Parker, The Atlantic, 13 June 2024 Loud whistle followed by loud crump: incoming fire. Natalia Yermak, New York Times, 7 Dec. 2022 But on January 5th some were woken by the less melodious rattle and crump of distant battle. The Economist, 11 Jan. 2020 The same pops and crumps and booms that haunt these ghosts are now supposed to be a soundtrack in the ears of 1,400 captive migrant children who crossed the desert in search of a new life and found… this. Matthew Farwell, The New Republic, 3 July 2019

Word History

Etymology

Verb

imitative

Adjective

perhaps alteration of crimp friable

First Known Use

Verb

1646, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1914, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

circa 1706, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of crump was in 1646

Dictionary Entries Near crump

Cite this Entry

“Crump.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crump. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!