crumple

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

To wrap a basketball, for example, you’d need to crumple the paper in a horrible mess or cut many pieces and tape them together with unsightly overlaps.

From Slate • Jan. 21, 2026

Even if voters crumple up and toss the congressional maps Yee and others drafted, none felt as though their labors were wasted.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 24, 2025

Rot and death would spread through their venerable trunks and crumple their limbs — but their roots and stumps, cradled by the continent’s most ancient mountains, lived on in the sandy, acidic Appalachian soil.

From Salon • Dec. 18, 2023

Materials designed to crumple or deform in a crash to protect pedestrians or passengers, for example, can be hard or impossible to repair.

From New York Times • Jul. 3, 2023

I crumple the soiled napkin into my fist.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith