# breadcrumb

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbɹɛdˌkɹʌm/ · frequency rank #88,146

## Definitions
1. A tiny piece of bread, either one that falls from bread as it is cut or eaten, or one made deliberately by crumbling bread.
2. A single link in a chain indicating the hierarchical location of a directory, web page or similar, used as a navigation aid.
3. A fragment of data that serves to log the actions taken by a program, used in debugging.
4. One in a series of clues leading to a person or place.

## Etymology
From bread + crumb. The computing and figurative senses allude to the German fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, where Hansel leaves a trail of breadcrumbs to find the way back home when venturing into the woods.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/breadcrumb