'Crab' definitions:
Definition of 'crab'
From: WordNet
noun
Decapod having eyes on short stalks and a broad flattened carapace with a small abdomen folded under the thorax and pincers
noun
A quarrelsome grouch [syn: crab, crabby person]
noun
(astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Cancer [syn: Cancer, Crab]
noun
The fourth sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about June 21 to July 22 [syn: Cancer, Cancer the Crab, Crab]
noun
The edible flesh of any of various crabs [syn: crab, crabmeat]
noun
A louse that infests the pubic region of the human body [syn: crab louse, pubic louse, crab, Phthirius pubis]
noun
A stroke of the oar that either misses the water or digs too deeply; "he caught a crab and lost the race"
verb
Direct (an aircraft) into a crosswind
verb
Scurry sideways like a crab
verb
Fish for crab
verb
Definition of 'Crab'
From: GCIDE
- Crab \Crab\ (kr[a^]b), n. [AS. crabba; akin to D. krab, G. krabbe, krebs, Icel. krabbi, Sw. krabba, Dan. krabbe, and perh. to E. cramp. Cf. Crawfish.]
- 1. (Zool.) One of the brachyuran Crustacea. They are mostly marine, and usually have a broad, short body, covered with a strong shell or carapace. The abdomen is small and curled up beneath the body. [1913 Webster]
- Note: The name is applied to all the Brachyura, and to certain Anomura, as the hermit crabs. Formerly, it was sometimes applied to Crustacea in general. Many species are edible, the blue crab of the Atlantic coast being one of the most esteemed. The large European edible crab is Cancer padurus. Soft-shelled crabs are blue crabs that have recently cast their shells. See Cancer; also, Box crab, Fiddler crab, {Hermit crab}, Spider crab, etc., under Box, Fiddler. etc. [1913 Webster]
- 2. The zodiacal constellation Cancer. [1913 Webster]
- 3. [See Crab, a.] (Bot.) A crab apple; -- so named from its harsh taste. [1913 Webster]
- When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl, Then nightly sings the staring owl. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- 4. A cudgel made of the wood of the crab tree; a crabstick. [Obs.] --Garrick. [1913 Webster]
- 5. (Mech.) (a) A movable winch or windlass with powerful gearing, used with derricks, etc. (b) A form of windlass, or geared capstan, for hauling ships into dock, etc. (c) A machine used in ropewalks to stretch the yarn. (d) A claw for anchoring a portable machine. [1913 Webster]
- Calling crab. (Zool.) See Fiddler., n., 2.
- Crab apple, a small, sour apple, of several kinds; also, the tree which bears it; as, the European crab apple (Pyrus Malus var. sylvestris); the Siberian crab apple (Pyrus baccata); and the American (Pyrus coronaria).
- Crab grass. (Bot.) (a) A grass (Digitaria sanguinalis syn. {Panicum sanguinalis}); -- called also finger grass. (b) A grass of the genus Eleusine (Eleusine Indica); -- called also dog's-tail grass, wire grass, etc.
- Crab louse (Zool.), a species of louse (Phthirius pubis), sometimes infesting the human body.
- Crab plover (Zool.), an Asiatic plover (Dromas ardeola).
- Crab's eyes, or Crab's stones, masses of calcareous matter found, at certain seasons of the year, on either side of the stomach of the European crawfishes, and formerly used in medicine for absorbent and antacid purposes; the gastroliths.
- Crab spider (Zool.), one of a group of spiders (Laterigrad[ae]); -- called because they can run backwards or sideways like a crab.
- Crab tree, the tree that bears crab applies.
- Crab wood, a light cabinet wood obtained in Guiana, which takes a high polish. --McElrath.
- To catch a crab (Naut.), a phrase used of a rower: (a) when he fails to raise his oar clear of the water; (b) when he misses the water altogether in making a stroke. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Crab'
From: GCIDE
- Crab \Crab\, a. [Prob. from the same root as crab, n.] Sour; rough; austere. [1913 Webster]
- The crab vintage of the neighb'ring coast. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Crab'
From: GCIDE
- Crab \Crab\ (kr[a^]b), v. t.
- 1. To make sour or morose; to embitter. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
- Sickness sours or crabs our nature. --Glanvill. [1913 Webster]
- 2. To beat with a crabstick. [Obs.] --J. Fletcher. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Crab'
From: GCIDE
- Crab \Crab\, v. i. (Naut.) To drift sidewise or to leeward, as a vessel. --Ham. Nav. Encyc. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'crab'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- air a grievance,
- bank,
- beef,
- bellyache,
- bellyacher,
- bitch,
- bleat,
- blue point,
- bollix,
- capstan,
- cat flea,
- chigoe,
- Chinese windlass,
- clam,
- clamor,
- cockroach,
- complain,
- complainant,
- complainer,
- coquillage,
- cramp,
- crane,
- crank,
- crawdad,
- crawfish,
- crayfish,
- crib,
- crimp,
- croak,
- croaker,
- crosspatch,
- derrick,
- dip,
- dog flea,
- Dungeness crab,
- erector,
- faultfinder,
- feather,
- fishtail,
- flea,
- forklift,
- foul up,
- fret,
- fret and fume,
- frondeur,
- fuss,
- gantry crane,
- grayback,
- gripe,
- griper,
- groan,
- grouch,
- grouse,
- grouser,
- growl,
- growler,
- grumble,
- grumbler,
- grunt,
- gum,
- gum up,
- hoist,
- holler,
- howl,
- hydraulic tailgate,
- jack,
- jackscrew,
- Japanese crab,
- jigger,
- kick,
- kicker,
- kvetch,
- langouste,
- lever,
- lift,
- lifter,
- limpet,
- littleneck clam,
- lobster,
- lodge a complaint,
- loop,
- louse,
- louse up,
- malcontent,
- mite,
- murmur,
- murmurer,
- mussel,
- mutter,
- mutterer,
- nit,
- oyster,
- parasite,
- periwinkle,
- plow,
- porpoise,
- prawn,
- pull out,
- pull up,
- push down,
- quahog,
- queer,
- querulous person,
- raise a howl,
- reactionary,
- reactionist,
- rebel,
- red bug,
- reel,
- register a complaint,
- roach,
- roll,
- sand flea,
- scallop,
- shellfish,
- shrimp,
- sideslip,
- skid,
- snafu,
- snail,
- soft-shell crab,
- sorehead,
- Spanish windlass,
- spin,
- spiral,
- squawk,
- steamer,
- stunt,
- tackle,
- take on,
- undulate,
- vermin,
- weevil,
- whelk,
- whiner,
- winch,
- windlass,
- yammer,
- yap,
- yaw,
- yawp,
- yelp
Words containing 'Crab'
- Crabbed,
- Crabbedly,
- Crabbing,
- crabs,
- Blue crab,
- Box crab,
- Calling crab,
- Crab Orchard,
- Crab apple,
- Crab grass,
- Crab louse,
- Crab plover,
- Crab spider,
- Crab tree,
- Crab wood,
- Crab's eyes,
- Crab's stones,
- Diogenes' crab,
- Edible crab,
- Fiddler crab,
- Fighting crab,
- Green crab,
- Hermit crab,
- Horse crab,
- Jonah crab,
- Kelp crab,
- King crab,
- Lady crab,
- Land crab,
- Masked crab,
- Molucca crab,
- Mud crab,
- Nut crab,
- Palm crab,
- Pea crab,
- Porcelain crab,
- Porcupine crab,
- Purse crab,
- Racing crab,
- River crab,
- Robber crab,
- Rock crab,
- Sand crab,
- Scavenger crab,
- Shore crab,
- Siberian crab,
- Soft crab,
- Soldier crab,
- Spider crab,
- Stone crab,
- Strawberry crab,
- Swimming crab,
- To catch a crab,
- Tree crab,
- Triangular crab,
- Velvet crab,
- alaska crab,
- bechtel crab,
- calico crab,
- cancer the crab,
- cherry crab,
- crab cactus,
- crab cocktail,
- crab legs,
- crab louis,
- crab nebula,
- crab wherry,
- dungeness crab,
- flowering crab,
- garland crab,
- giant crab,
- horsehoe crab,
- horseshoe crab,
- iowa crab,
- japanese crab,
- mantis crab,
- oyster crab,
- prairie crab,
- sentinel crab,
- wild crab,
- Alaskan king crab,
- Crab Orchard, KY,
- Crab Orchard, NE,
- Crab Orchard, TN,
- Crab Orchard, WV,
- Crab-yaws,
- Glass-crab,
- alaska king crab,
- american crab apple,
- american lady crab,
- asian horseshoe crab,
- cultivated crab apple,
- english lady crab,
- european spider crab,
- iowa crab apple,
- mud-crab,
- oregon crab apple,
- siberian crab apple,
- southern crab apple,
- western crab apple,
- Soft-shelled crab,
- Soft-shelled crabs,
- crab-eating dog,
- crab-eating fox,
- crab-eating macaque,
- crab-eating opossum,
- crab-eating seal,
- hard-shell crab,
- soft-shell crab,
- crabbed crabby cross fussy fussbudgety grouchy grumpy bad-tempered ill-tempered