Definitions for Crab

• Definition
• Anagrams (31)

Crab crab

Spelling: [krab]

IPA: /kræb/

Crab is a 4 letter English word. It's valid Scrabble word worth 8 points. It's valid Words with friends word worth 10 points.

You can make 31 anagrams from letters in Crab (abcr).

Definitions for Crab

noun

1. any decapod crustacean of the suborder Brachyura, having the eyes on short stalks and a short, broad, more or less flattened body, the abdomen being small and folded under the thorax.
2. any of various other crustaceans, as the hermit crab, or other animals, as the horseshoe crab, resembling the true crabs.
3. (initial capital letter) Astronomy, Astrology. the zodiacal constellation or sign Cancer.
4. (initial capital letter) Astronomy. the Crab Nebula.
5. any of various mechanical contrivances for hoisting or pulling.
6. Aeronautics. the maneuver of crabbing.
7. Informal. the crab louse. See under louse (def 1).
8. crabs. (used with a singular verb) a losing throw, as two aces, in the game of hazard. pediculosis.
9. a crab apple fruit or tree.
10. Informal. an ill-tempered or grouchy person.

Idioms

1. catch a crab, to make a faulty stroke in rowing, so that the oar strikes the water forcibly on the backstroke.

verb (used with object)

1. to move (a vehicle or object) sideways, diagonally, or obliquely, especially with short, abrupt movements.
2. Aeronautics. to head (an aircraft) partly into the wind to compensate for drift.
3. Informal. to find fault with.
4. to make ill-tempered or grouchy; embitter.
5. (of a hawk) to claw (another hawk).
6. Slang. to spoil.

verb (used without object)

1. to catch or attempt to catch crabs.
2. to move sideways, diagonally, or obliquely, especially with short, abrupt bursts of speed; scuttle.
3. Aeronautics. (of an aircraft) to head partly into the wind to compensate for drift.
4. Nautical. to drift or advance with some movement sideways, especially when under tow.
5. Informal. to find fault; complain.
6. (of hawks) to claw each other.

Origin of Crab

before 1000; Middle English crabbe, Old English crabba; cognate with Dutch krab, Old Norse krabbi; akin to German Krebs

Examples for Crab

Whose fault is it that I got the good colt and you got the crab?

Anybody but Esther Tidditt, that is; she's down on him like a sheet anchor on a crab.

I watched the crab scramble for shelter as everything he knows turned on its side.

And amongst all animals, you will tell us that the crab has loveliest eyes?

Scott Murray attached a GoPro camera to a crab net—and was surprised with what he saw.

Salmon burgers and shrimp burgers are available, too, but they are no match for the crab.

The crab complaint," he writes, "has recurred more than a dozen times in newspapers around the country.

Half an hour before serving, clear a lobster or crab from the shell, and put it into the stew, adding a little salt and cayenne.

Add the crab meat, breadcrumbs, egg, mayonnaise, and sour cream.

He covered the crab with its shell and taught it how to creep.