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Glite Dictionary
🍞 Small bread pieces 🧭 Navigation links
breadcrumb

breadcrumb

5 4.2
A row of links that shows where you are on a website and lets you go back
  • noun
  • /ˈbrɛdkrʌm/
  • Texting
translation icon : migas de pan
  • The breadcrumb trail displayed on the site makes it easy to see where you are in the hierarchy of content.
  • breadcrumb trail
  • follow the breadcrumbs
  • electronic breadcrumbs

Examples

  • You followed the breadcrumbs right to us.

    The Spirit (2008)

  • The website has a clear breadcrumb navigation that helps users find their way back to previous pages.

  • A breadcrumb trail, and we're meant to follow.

    Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

  • Are you leaving little breadcrumbs behind so we can find our way out of here?

    C.H.U.D. (1984)

  • Let's follow the breadcrumbs, shall we?

    Blog text (5)

  • Don't forget to leave a trail of breadcrumbs, just in case you get lost.

    Outpost: Black Sun (2012)

  • It only adds the breadcrumbs to the page it came from.

    Blog text (31)

  • After a few tests, the makerspace began relying on "digital breadcrumbs" to lead unsuspecting students into the makerspace.

    Academic text (2014)

  • You can use the breadcrumb links at the top of the screen to return to earlier sections of the app.

Synonyms

breadcrumb trail
vsbreadcrumb
1 4.8

A series of small clues that lead step by step to a solution

is used in websites to show current location rather than lead to a solution
breadcrumb path
vsbreadcrumb
5.8

A set of small signs that help you find your way back, often on websites

is used in websites to show current location rather than physical route

Compounds

breadcrumb trail
1 4.8

A series of small clues that lead step by step to a solution

breadcrumb path
5.8

A set of small signs that help you find your way back, often on websites

breadcrumb topping
3.4

A crunchy layer of breadcrumbs mixed with butter on top of a baked dish

How Detailed

breadcrumb
  • Texting
5 4.2

Surface Forms

breadcrumb singular
breadcrumbs plural

Morphology

breadcrumb = bread + crumb (semi-transparent) = bread + crumb

The computing sense is a metaphorical extension of the literal compound (a trail of small pieces), so the relation is clear but requires cultural/figurative mapping.

Etymology

Breadcrumb is also used for a website 'trail' of links; this meaning comes from the idea of leaving a path of breadcrumbs, like in the fairy tale 'Hansel and Gretel', so the links help you find your way back.