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crab1

Syllabification: (crab)
Pronunciation: /krab/
Translate crab | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of crab

noun

  • 1a crustacean with a broad carapace, stalked eyes, and five pairs of legs, the first pair of which are modified as pincers. Crabs are abundant on many shores, especially in the tropics, where some have become adapted to life on land.
    • Many families in the order Decapoda, class Malacostraca
  • the flesh of a crab as food.
  • (the Crab) the zodiacal sign or constellation Cancer.
  • 2 (also crab louse) a louse that infests human body hair, especially in the genital region, causing extreme irritation. Also called pubic louse.
    • Phthirus pubis, family Pediculidae, order Anoplura
  • (crabs) informal an infestation of crab lice.
  • 3a machine for picking up and lifting heavy weights.

verb (crabs, crabbing, crabbed)

  • 1 [no object] move sideways or obliquely:he began crabbing sideways across the roof
  • [with object] steer (an aircraft or ship) slightly sideways to compensate for a crosswind or current.
  • 2 [no object] fish for crabs.

Phrases

catch a crab

Rowing make a faulty stroke in which the oar is under water too long or misses the water altogether.

Derivatives

crabber

noun

crablike

Pronunciation: /-ˌlīk/
adjective & adverb

Origin:

Old English crabba, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch krabbe, and more distantly to Dutch kreeft and German Krebs; also to crab3

crab in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of crab in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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