breadcrumb
/ˈbɹɛdˌkɹʌm/ noun, verb
Forms breadcrumbs breadcrumbing breadcrumbed bread crumb
- noun (chiefly in the plural) A tiny piece of bread, either one that falls from bread as it is cut or eaten, or one made deliberately by crumbling bread.
- noun (graphical user interface, chiefly in the plural) A single link in a chain indicating the hierarchical location of a directory, web page or similar, used as a navigation aid.
- noun (programming, chiefly in the plural) A fragment of data that serves to log the actions taken by a program, used in debugging.
- noun (figuratively, in the plural) One in a series of clues leading to a person or place.
- verb (transitive, cooking) To sprinkle breadcrumbs on to food, normally before cooking.
- verb (graphical user interface, intransitive) To add navigational breadcrumbs to (a web page or user interface).
- verb To use clues or enticements to lead someone in the desired direction.
Synonyms
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.
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “breadcrumb”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details