crust
crust Lexical Profile
crust Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The tough, browned outer layer of a loaf of bread, or the pastry covering of a pie or tart.
"The baker pulled the sourdough loaf from the oven, admiring its golden, crackling crust."
The outermost solid rocky shell of the Earth or another terrestrial planet or moon, lying above the mantle.
"Geologists study how tectonic plates shift within the Earth's oceanic and continental crust."
A hardened outer layer, coating, or deposit formed on the surface of a softer substance, such as snow, soil, or a healing wound.
"Overnight temperatures dropped sharply, leaving a thin icy crust over the fresh snow."
• verb
To form or become covered with a hard outer layer or coating.
"The mud on his hiking boots began to dry and crust in the warm afternoon sun."
To coat the exterior of food with a layer of crumbs, herbs, spices, or nuts before cooking so that it forms a crisp outer shell.
"The chef decided to crust the salmon fillets with crushed pistachios and black pepper before roasting them."
• Rhymes for crust
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in Middle English from Old French cruste, from Latin crusta ('rind, shell, bark, hard surface'), ultimately derived from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to freeze' or 'to harden'.