One syllable: crumb.
kruhm
/kɹʌm/
crumb is pronounced kruhm (/kɹʌm/). It has one syllable (crumb), with the stress on "crumb". Crumb refers to a tiny fragment broken off from a larger piece of bread or baked goods, often dry and powdery. It can also describe a small trace or hint of something. In food contexts, it’s usually used where texture or quantity is emphasized, as in “a crumb of bread” or “crumbly.” The term also appears metaphorically to indicate a small amount remaining.
Crumb refers to a tiny fragment broken off from a larger piece of bread or baked goods, often dry and powdery. It can also describe a small trace or hint of something. In food contexts, it’s usually used where texture or quantity is emphasized, as in “a crumb of bread” or “crumbly.” The term also appears metaphorically to indicate a small amount remaining.
"She scraped the last crumb from the crust with a napkin."
"The cookie crumb trail led us to the kitchen."
"There isn’t a crumb of evidence to support that claim."
Pronounce it as /krʌm/. It’s a single syllable with a short, lax vowel /ʌ/ as in 'cup' followed by an final /m/. The initial /kr/ cluster starts with a light /k/ release into a rolled or enunciated /r/ depending on accent, but keep it tight. The mouth closes quickly after the vowel, ending on /m/. In casual speech you might hear a slightly reduced quality, but the standard is /krʌm/.
Common mistakes include adding a schwa before the /ʌ/ as in /krəʊʌm/ or turning /kr/ into /krɪ/ by over-articulating the vowel, and overemphasizing the /m/ at the end. Another error is voicing the /r/ too strongly or misplacing it in non-rhotic accents. To correct: keep the vowel short /ʌ/ (like ‘strum’ without the ‘str-’), keep the /kr/ cluster tight, and end with a light, closed lips /m/ with no extra vowel after it.
In US and UK, /krʌm/ remains similar, with rhoticity affecting post-vocalic r only in some contexts; for crumb, that sound is not prominent. In non-rhotic UK contexts, /r/ isn’t pronounced explicitly after a vowel, but with /kr/ you still have a separate /r/ release; most speakers keep /krʌm/. Australian accents also keep /krʌm/ but may exhibit slightly more centralized vowels in fast speech. Overall the word is compact with a short /ʌ/ vowel; the main variation is the timing and vowel length in linked speech.
Crumb is tricky because of the /kr/ consonant cluster and the short, lax /ʌ/ vowel in a closed syllable ending with /m/. In rapid speech, the vowel can be reduced or merged with neighboring sounds, and the /r/ may be less prominent in non-rhotic accents. For learners, the challenge is producing a clean, abrupt /kr/ onset, maintaining a short /ʌ/ without inserting a schwa, and finishing with a crisp /m/ without adding a nasal vowel afterwards.
Crumb sometimes registers as a silent or nearly silent 'r' sound in some rapid, non-rhotic speech varieties where the /r/ is not pronounced; however, in crumb the /r/ is part of a true /kr/ onset and should be audible during careful pronunciation. The main focus is on maintaining a quick but clear /kr/ onset and a short, clipped /ʌ/ before the /m/. Paying attention to this onset prevents a common slip into /kɹʌm/ with mis-timed release.
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The word crumb comes from Old English crumb, cruma, which denoted a small piece or bit of bread. Its origins lie in the Proto-Germanic *kruma-/*crumbaz, tied to the root meaning to crumble or break into small pieces. Across the Middle Ages, crumb referred specifically to small fragments left after breaking bread or other baked goods, often used in religious or ceremonial contexts (crumbs from the Eucharist or offerings). The general sense—small particles separated from a larger whole—evolved into metaphorical uses like leaving a crumb of evidence or a crumb of information. The semantic trajectory from literal bread fragment to figurative ‘trace’ appears in early modern English writings, maintaining the core idea of a tiny, residual piece. By the 18th and 19th centuries, crumb had become a common culinary term across English-speaking regions and spread into idiomatic phrases, while still primarily retaining its tactile texture sense. Today, crumb remains a vivid, tactile word used in both literal and figurative contexts, with its etymology rooted in the ancient act of breaking bread and tracking the resulting fragments as a trace of the whole.
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Words that rhyme with "crumb"
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