crab
crab Lexical Profile
crab Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A marine or freshwater crustacean with a broad, flat carapace, a short abdomen tucked under the body, and five pairs of legs, the front pair typically modified as pincers.
"We spent the afternoon looking for crabs in the tide pools along the rocky shore."
A grumpy, bad-tempered person who frequently complains.
"Don't be such a crab just because we have to wake up early tomorrow morning."
• verb
To fish for or catch crabs.
"We went crabbing off the pier at dawn, using chicken necks as bait."
To complain or find fault, especially in a petty or persistent way.
"He was constantly crabbing about the cold weather and the poor service."
To move sideways or diagonally, typically to compensate for a crosswind (especially of an aircraft) or mimicking the sideways walk of a crustacean.
"The pilot had to crab the airplane on final approach to stay aligned with the runway in the strong crosswind."
• Rhymes for crab
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'crabba', of Germanic origin; related to Dutch 'krab' and German 'Krabbe', stemming from an Indo-European root meaning 'to scratch or crawl'.