crumpled; crumpling
ˈkrəm-p(ə-)liŋ 
Synonyms
Examples of crumple in a Sentence
Verb
She crumpled the piece of paper into a ball and tossed it into the garbage can.
The car's fender was crumpled in the accident.
At the sight of blood, he crumpled to the floor.
Recent Examples on the Web
USA TODAY, 20 Apr. 2024
Lee takes the bullet and crumples to the ground while Jessie — in a stunning lack of empathy — grabs hold of her camera and takes the shot.
—Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 13 Apr. 2024
Then successive sections of the 1.6-mile bridge – once considered a source of civic pride and a milestone in transportation planning – crumpled into the river.
—Ray Sanchez, CNN, 29 Mar. 2024
An enormous container ship, the Dali, slammed into a support of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, crumpling its central span into the Patapsco River and cutting off the city’s port from the Atlantic Ocean.
—Aarian Marshall Matt Simon, WIRED, 27 Mar. 2024
As the teen crumples to the ground under a series of punches, a second probation officer can be seen shaking hands with one of the previous attackers and smiling.
—James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Old Glory is seen billowing to the ground before the man is seen reaching down to the ground and crumpling up the flag.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News, 6 Apr. 2024
The crash at 6:15 a.m. local time left the van almost completely crumpled among blooming almond trees near the town of Madera, about 25 miles outside Fresno, California Highway Patrol Officer Javier Ruvalcaba said.
—CBS News, 24 Feb. 2024
The bridge crumpled into the Patapsco River, its twisted metal draped over the ship and its thousands of containers.
—Laurel Wamsley, NPR, 30 Mar. 2024
Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Feb. 2024
Each card makes the fire burn a little brighter, a burst of light and memory as the paper singes and crumples.
—Time, 12 July 2023
In the Koroyd zones of the helmet, tiny tubes crumple upon impact to disperse and absorb energy.
—Lydia Price, Travel + Leisure, 1 Feb. 2023
The crumple of a man unfolding a newspaper, and a pencil scribbling the answers to a crossword puzzle.
—Andy Meek, BGR, 20 May 2022
Along the Gulf Coast, this is largely due to the extraction of oil and water, which makes the ground crumple like an empty plastic bottle.
—Matt Simon, Wired, 24 Feb. 2022
The man was outside, on a mobile, his voice dipping in and out amid the ambient scratch and crumple of the elements.
—Colin Barrett, The New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2021
Then came Osaka, a winner of the U.S. and Australian opens, acknowledging that athletes can publicly share vulnerability and truths about the types of pressure that would cause most to crumple.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Aug. 2021
The frenetic music in the background, the melodramatic slaps, Sarah Jane’s slow crumple to the asphalt.
—New York Times, 23 Feb. 2021
Verb
The police officer made a last-ditch attempt to hit the brakes, records show, but his SUV zipped over the last 100 yards in less than three seconds, a torpedo destined to crumple almost anything in its path.
—USA TODAY, 20 Apr. 2024
Lee takes the bullet and crumples to the ground while Jessie — in a stunning lack of empathy — grabs hold of her camera and takes the shot.
—Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 13 Apr. 2024
Then successive sections of the 1.6-mile bridge – once considered a source of civic pride and a milestone in transportation planning – crumpled into the river.
—Ray Sanchez, CNN, 29 Mar. 2024
An enormous container ship, the Dali, slammed into a support of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, crumpling its central span into the Patapsco River and cutting off the city’s port from the Atlantic Ocean.
—Aarian Marshall Matt Simon, WIRED, 27 Mar. 2024
As the teen crumples to the ground under a series of punches, a second probation officer can be seen shaking hands with one of the previous attackers and smiling.
—James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Old Glory is seen billowing to the ground before the man is seen reaching down to the ground and crumpling up the flag.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News, 6 Apr. 2024
The crash at 6:15 a.m. local time left the van almost completely crumpled among blooming almond trees near the town of Madera, about 25 miles outside Fresno, California Highway Patrol Officer Javier Ruvalcaba said.
—CBS News, 24 Feb. 2024
The bridge crumpled into the Patapsco River, its twisted metal draped over the ship and its thousands of containers.
—Laurel Wamsley, NPR, 30 Mar. 2024
Noun
Unlike the Earth, our celestial companion lacks plate tectonics, so its brittle crust crumples into unstable ridges called thrust faults to accommodate its dwindling volume.
—Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Feb. 2024
Each card makes the fire burn a little brighter, a burst of light and memory as the paper singes and crumples.
—Time, 12 July 2023
In the Koroyd zones of the helmet, tiny tubes crumple upon impact to disperse and absorb energy.
—Lydia Price, Travel + Leisure, 1 Feb. 2023
The crumple of a man unfolding a newspaper, and a pencil scribbling the answers to a crossword puzzle.
—Andy Meek, BGR, 20 May 2022
Along the Gulf Coast, this is largely due to the extraction of oil and water, which makes the ground crumple like an empty plastic bottle.
—Matt Simon, Wired, 24 Feb. 2022
The man was outside, on a mobile, his voice dipping in and out amid the ambient scratch and crumple of the elements.
—Colin Barrett, The New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2021
Then came Osaka, a winner of the U.S. and Australian opens, acknowledging that athletes can publicly share vulnerability and truths about the types of pressure that would cause most to crumple.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Aug. 2021
The frenetic music in the background, the melodramatic slaps, Sarah Jane’s slow crumple to the asphalt.
—New York Times, 23 Feb. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crumple.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near crumple
Cite this Entry
“Crumple.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crumple. Accessed 1 May. 2024.
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