crab Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun decapod having eyes on short stalks and a broad flattened carapace with a small abdomen folded under the thorax and pincers
  2. noun a quarrelsome grouch
    crabby person.
  3. noun (astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Cancer
    Cancer.
  4. noun the fourth sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about June 21 to July 22
    Cancer the Crab; Cancer.
  5. noun the edible flesh of any of various crabs
    crabmeat.
  6. noun a louse that infests the pubic region of the human body
    crab louse; Phthirius pubis; pubic louse.
  7. noun a stroke of the oar that either misses the water or digs too deeply
    • he caught a crab and lost the race
  8. verb direct (an aircraft) into a crosswind
  9. verb scurry sideways like a crab
  10. verb fish for crab
  11. verb complain
    squawk; bellyache; grouse; beef; gripe; holler; bitch.
    • What was he hollering about?

WordNet

Crab noun
Etymology
AS. crabba; akin to D. krab, G. krabbe, krebs, Icel. krabbi, Sw. krabba, Dan. krabbe, and perh. to E. cramp. Cf. Crawfish.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) 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. ✍ 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.
  2. The zodiacal constellation Cancer.
  3. See Crab, a. (Bot.) A crab apple; -- so named from its harsh taste.
    When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl, Then nightly sings the staring owl. Shak.
  4. A cudgel made of the wood of the crab tree; a crabstick. Obs. Garrick.
  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.
Crab transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To make sour or morose; to embitter. Obs.
    Sickness sours or crabs our nature. Glanvill.
  2. To beat with a crabstick. Obs. J. Fletcher.
Crab intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. (Naut.)To drift sidewise or to leeward, as a vessel. Ham. Nav. Encyc.
Crab adjective
Etymology
Prob. from the same root as crab, n.
Definitions
  1. Sour; rough; austere.
    The crab vintage of the neighb'ring coast. Dryden.

Webster 1913