crab

IPA: krˈæb

noun

  • A crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, having five pairs of legs, the foremost of which are in the form of claws, and a carapace.
  • (uncountable) The meat of this crustacean, served as food; crabmeat.
  • A bad-tempered person.
  • (in plural crabs, informal) An infestation of pubic lice (Pthirus pubis).
  • (uncountable, aviation) The angle by which an aircraft's nose is pointed upwind of its groundtrack to compensate for crosswinds during an approach to landing; its crab angle.
  • (slang) A playing card with the rank of three.
  • (rowing) A position in rowing where the oar is pushed under the rigger by the force of the water.
  • A defect in an outwardly normal object that may render it inconvenient and troublesome to use.
  • (dated) An unsold book that is returned to the publisher.
  • The crab apple or wild apple.
  • The tree bearing crab apples, which has a dogbane-like bitter bark with medical use.
  • A cudgel made of the wood of the crab tree; a crabstick.
  • A movable winch or windlass with powerful gearing, used with derricks, etc.
  • A form of windlass, or geared capstan, for hauling ships into dock, etc.
  • A machine used in ropewalks to stretch the yarn.
  • A claw for anchoring a portable machine.
  • The tree species Carapa guianensis, native to South America.
  • (informal) Short for carabiner. [A metal link with a gate that can open and close, generally used for clipping ropes to anchors or other objects.]

verb

  • (intransitive) To fish for crabs.
  • (transitive, US, slang) To ruin.
  • (intransitive) To complain.
  • (transitive) To complain about.
  • (intransitive) To drift or move sideways or to leeward (by analogy with the movement of a crab).
  • To move in a manner that involves keeping low and clinging to surfaces.
  • (transitive, aviation) To navigate (an aircraft, e.g. a glider) sideways against an air current in order to maintain a straight-line course.
  • (transitive, film, television) To move (a camera) sideways.
  • (obsolete, World War I), to fly slightly off the straight-line course towards an enemy aircraft, as the machine guns on early aircraft did not allow firing through the propeller disk.
  • (rare) To back out of something.
  • (obsolete) To irritate, make surly or sour
  • To be ill-tempered; to complain or find fault.
  • (British dialect) To cudgel or beat, as with a crabstick
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Examples of "crab" in Sentences

  • The crab has a big claw.
  • Crabs live under the sea.
  • His handwriting is very much crabbed.
  • The sailors caught crabs and dolphones.
  • It was difficult to read the crabbed writings.
  • The handwriting is described as small and crabbed.
  • The crabbed handwriting was not enough for the teacher.
  • The ship incorporated elements of a starfish and a crab.
  • The horseshoe crab is an arthropod of the family Limulidae.
  • Furiously, he throws the crab and the crab lands in the employer's hat.

Related Links

synonyms for crabdescribing words for crab
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