crab


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Crab

 (krăb)
n.
See Cancer.

crab 1

 (krăb)
n.
1.
a. Any of various chiefly marine decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, having a hard carapace that covers a broad flattened cephalothorax with a small abdomen tucked beneath it, and an anterior pair of legs that are large and pincerlike.
b. Any of various similar decapod crustaceans, such as a hermit crab or a king crab.
c. Crabmeat.
2.
a. A crab louse.
b. crabs Slang Infestation by crab lice.
3. The maneuvering of an aircraft partially into a crosswind to compensate for drift.
4. A machine for handling or hoisting heavy weights.
v. crabbed, crab·bing, crabs
v.intr.
1. To hunt or catch crabs.
2. To scurry sideways in the manner of a crab.
3. To drift diagonally or sideways, especially when under tow.
4. To direct an aircraft into a crosswind.
v.tr.
1. To direct (an aircraft) partly into a crosswind to eliminate drift.
2. To cause to move or scurry sideways.
Idiom:
catch a crab
To make a faulty stroke in rowing that causes the blade of the oar to strike the water on the recovery stroke.

[Middle English crabbe, from Old English crabba; see gerbh- in Indo-European roots.]

crab′ber n.

crab 2

 (krăb)
n.
1. A crabapple tree or its fruit.
2. A quarrelsome, ill-tempered person.
v. crabbed, crab·bing, crabs
v.intr. Informal
To find fault; criticize someone or something.
v.tr.
1. Informal To interfere with and ruin; spoil.
2. Informal To find fault with; complain about.
3. To make ill-tempered or sullen.

[Middle English crabbe, possibly from crabbe, crab (shellfish); see crab1.]

crab′ber n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

crab

(kræb)
n
1. (Animals) any chiefly marine decapod crustacean of the genus Cancer and related genera (section Brachyura), having a broad flattened carapace covering the cephalothorax, beneath which is folded the abdomen. The first pair of limbs are modified as pincers. See also fiddler crab, soft-shell crab, pea crab, oyster crab
2. (Animals) any of various similar or related arthropods, such as the hermit crab and horseshoe crab
3. (Animals) short for crab louse
4. (Aeronautics) a manoeuvre in which an aircraft flies slightly into the crosswind to compensate for drift
5. (Mechanical Engineering) a mechanical lifting device, esp the travelling hoist of a gantry crane
6. (Wrestling) wrestling See Boston crab
7. (Rowing) catch a crab rowing to make a stroke in which the oar either misses the water or digs too deeply, causing the rower to fall backwards
vb, crabs, crabbing or crabbed
8. (intr) to hunt or catch crabs
9. (Aeronautics) (tr) to fly (an aircraft) slightly into a crosswind to compensate for drift
10. (Nautical Terms) (intr) nautical to move forwards with a slight sideways motion, as to overcome an offsetting current
11. (intr) to move sideways
[Old English crabba; related to Old Norse krabbi, Old High German krebiz crab, Dutch krabben to scratch]

crab

(kræb)
vb, crabs, crabbing or crabbed
1. (intr) to find fault; grumble
2. (tr) chiefly US to spoil (esp in the phrase crab someone's act)
n
3. an irritable person
4. draw the crabs Austral to attract unwelcome attention
[C16: probably back formation from crabbed]

crab

(kræb)
n
(Plants) short for crab apple
[C15: perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Swedish skrabbe crab apple]

Crab

(kræb)
n
(Astrology) the Crab the constellation Cancer, the fourth sign of the zodiac
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

crab1

(kræb)

n., v. crabbed, crab•bing. n.
1. any decapod crustacean of the suborder Brachyura, having a wide and flattened body, with a small abdomen folded under the thorax.
2. any of various crablike arthropods, as the horseshoe crab.
3. (cap.) cancer (def. 3).
4. (cap.) the CrabNebula.
5. a mechanical contrivance for hoisting or pulling heavy weights.
6. a maneuver in which an aircraft is headed partly into the wind to compensate for drift.
8. crabs, pediculosis.
v.i.
9. to fish for crabs.
10. to move sideways with short bursts of speed; scuttle.
11. (of an aircraft) to head partly into the wind to compensate for drift.
v.t.
12. to move (a vehicle or object) sideways or obliquely, esp. with short, abrupt movements.
13. to head (an aircraft) partly into the wind to compensate for drift.
[before 1000; Middle English crabbe, Old English crabba, c. Middle Low German, Middle Dutch krabbe, Old Norse krabbi; akin to Old Saxon krebit, Old High German chrebiz]
crab′ber, n.
crab′like`, adj.

crab2

(kræb)

n.
a crab apple fruit or tree.
[1300–50; orig. uncertain]

crab3

(kræb)

n., v. crabbed, crab•bing. n.
1. an ill-tempered person.
v.i.
2. to find fault; complain.
v.t.
3. to make ill-tempered.
4. to find fault with.
5. to spoil; ruin.
[1350–1400; Middle English; back formation from crabbed]
crab′ber, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

crab


Past participle: crabbed
Gerund: crabbing

Imperative
crab
crab
Present
I crab
you crab
he/she/it crabs
we crab
you crab
they crab
Preterite
I crabbed
you crabbed
he/she/it crabbed
we crabbed
you crabbed
they crabbed
Present Continuous
I am crabbing
you are crabbing
he/she/it is crabbing
we are crabbing
you are crabbing
they are crabbing
Present Perfect
I have crabbed
you have crabbed
he/she/it has crabbed
we have crabbed
you have crabbed
they have crabbed
Past Continuous
I was crabbing
you were crabbing
he/she/it was crabbing
we were crabbing
you were crabbing
they were crabbing
Past Perfect
I had crabbed
you had crabbed
he/she/it had crabbed
we had crabbed
you had crabbed
they had crabbed
Future
I will crab
you will crab
he/she/it will crab
we will crab
you will crab
they will crab
Future Perfect
I will have crabbed
you will have crabbed
he/she/it will have crabbed
we will have crabbed
you will have crabbed
they will have crabbed
Future Continuous
I will be crabbing
you will be crabbing
he/she/it will be crabbing
we will be crabbing
you will be crabbing
they will be crabbing
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been crabbing
you have been crabbing
he/she/it has been crabbing
we have been crabbing
you have been crabbing
they have been crabbing
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been crabbing
you will have been crabbing
he/she/it will have been crabbing
we will have been crabbing
you will have been crabbing
they will have been crabbing
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been crabbing
you had been crabbing
he/she/it had been crabbing
we had been crabbing
you had been crabbing
they had been crabbing
Conditional
I would crab
you would crab
he/she/it would crab
we would crab
you would crab
they would crab
Past Conditional
I would have crabbed
you would have crabbed
he/she/it would have crabbed
we would have crabbed
you would have crabbed
they would have crabbed
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.crab - decapod having eyes on short stalks and a broad flattened carapace with a small abdomen folded under the thorax and pincerscrab - decapod having eyes on short stalks and a broad flattened carapace with a small abdomen folded under the thorax and pincers
decapod, decapod crustacean - crustaceans characteristically having five pairs of locomotor appendages each joined to a segment of the thorax
Brachyura, suborder Brachyura - an order of crustaceans (including true crabs) having a reduced abdomen folded against the ventral surface
Menippe mercenaria, stone crab - large edible crab of the southern coast of the United States (particularly Florida)
hard-shell crab - edible crab that has not recently molted and so has a hard shell
soft-shell crab, soft-shelled crab - edible crab that has recently molted and not yet formed its new shell
Cancer magister, Dungeness crab - small edible crab of Pacific coast of North America
Cancer irroratus, rock crab - crab of eastern coast of North America
Cancer borealis, Jonah crab - large red deep-water crab of the eastern coast of North America
swimming crab - marine crab with some legs flattened and fringed for swimming
fiddler crab - burrowing crab of American coastal regions having one claw much enlarged in the male
pea crab - tiny soft-bodied crab living commensally in the mantles of certain bivalve mollusks
Paralithodes camtschatica, Alaska crab, Alaska king crab, Alaskan king crab, king crab - large edible crab of northern Pacific waters especially along the coasts of Alaska and Japan
spider crab - any of numerous crabs with very long legs and small triangular bodies
2.crab - a quarrelsome grouch
crank, crosspatch, grouch, grump, churl - a bad-tempered person
3.Crab - (astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Cancer
individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul - a human being; "there was too much for one person to do"
astrology, star divination - a pseudoscience claiming divination by the positions of the planets and sun and moon
4.Crab - the fourth sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about June 21 to July 22
5.crab - the edible flesh of any of various crabs
crab cocktail - a cocktail of cold cooked crabmeat and a sauce
shellfish - meat of edible aquatic invertebrate with a shell (especially a mollusk or crustacean)
blue crab - Atlantic crab; most common source of fresh crabmeat
crab legs - legs of especially Alaska king crabs
soft-shell crab, soft-shelled crab - freshly molted crab with new shell still tender and flexible
Japanese crab - crabmeat usually canned; from Japan
Alaska crab, Alaska king crab, Alaskan king crab, king crab - meat of large cold-water crab; mainly leg meat
Dungeness crab - flesh of Cancer magister (Dungeness crab)
stone crab - pale flesh with delicate texture and flavor; found in Florida but now very rare
6.crab - a louse that infests the pubic region of the human bodycrab - a louse that infests the pubic region of the human body
louse, sucking louse - wingless usually flattened bloodsucking insect parasitic on warm-blooded animals
7.crab - a stroke of the oar that either misses the water or digs too deeply; "he caught a crab and lost the race"
rowing, row - the act of rowing as a sport
Verb1.crab - direct (an aircraft) into a crosswind
air travel, aviation, air - travel via aircraft; "air travel involves too much waiting in airports"; "if you've time to spare go by air"
channelise, channelize, guide, maneuver, steer, manoeuver, manoeuvre, point, head, direct - direct the course; determine the direction of travelling
2.crab - scurry sideways like a crab
scamper, scurry, scuttle, skitter - to move about or proceed hurriedly; "so terrified by the extraordinary ebbing of the sea that they scurried to higher ground"
3.crab - fish for crab
fish - catch or try to catch fish or shellfish; "I like to go fishing on weekends"
4.crab - complaincrab - complain; "What was he hollering about?"
kvetch, plain, quetch, complain, sound off, kick - express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness; "My mother complains all day"; "She has a lot to kick about"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

crab

noun
Related words
adjective cancroid
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

crab

noun
A person who habitually complains or grumbles:
Informal: crank, griper, grouser.
verb
Informal. To express negative feelings, especially of dissatisfaction or resentment:
Informal: gripe, grouse, kick.
Slang: beef, bellyache, bitch.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
سَرَطَانسَرَطان بَحْـريَنْتَقِد بِقَسْوَه، يَتَذَمَّـر
krabpomlouvatstěžovat si
krabbekritiseresurmule
raputaskurapu
rak
rák
krabbi
カニ
ignotiesjūras vēziskrabisnaudet
rac
krab
rakovica
krabba
ปู
yengeçbeğenmemekkusur bulmakşikâyet etmek
con cuacua

crab

[kræb]
A. N
1. (Zool) → cangrejo m, jaiba f (LAm)
the Crab (Astron) → (la constelación de) Cáncer
to catch a crab (Rowing) → fallar con el remo, dar una calada
2. crabs (Med) → ladillas fpl
B. VI to crab (about) (US) → quejarse (acerca de)
C. CPD crab apple N (= fruit) → manzana f silvestre; (= tree) → manzano m silvestre
crab grass Ngarranchuelo m
crab louse Nladilla f
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

crab

[ˈkræb]
n
(= animal) → crabe m
(= food) → crabe m
modif [salad, paste] → de crabecrab apple npomme f sauvage
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

crab

:
crab grass
nFingerhirse f
crab louse
nFilzlaus f
crabmeat
nKrabbenfleisch nt
crabwise
advseitwärts

crab

1
n
Krabbe f; (small also) → Krebs m; (as food) → Krabbe f; to catch a crab (Rowing) → einen Krebs fangen
(= crab louse)Filzlaus f
(Gymnastics) → Brücke f

crab

2
vinörgeln
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

crab

1 [kræb] ngranchio

crab

2 [kræb] n (Mountaineering) → moschettone m
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

crab1

(krӕb) noun
an edible sea animal with a shell and five pairs of legs, the first pair having claws.

crab2

(krab) past tense past participle crabbed verb
(slang) to complain or criticize. He keeps on crabbing about the weather.
ˈcrabby adjective
bad-tempered; complaining. a crabby old man.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

crab

سَرَطَان krab krabbe Krabbe καβούρι cangrejo taskurapu crabe rak granchio カニ kreeft krabbe krab caranguejo краб krabba ปู yengeç con cua 螃蟹
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

crab

n. cangrejo, cámbaro.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

crab

(fam) crab louse. V. louse.
English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
References in classic literature ?
One day, among the other fishes, he caught a golden crab. When he came home he put all the fishes together into a great dish, but he kept the Crab separate because it shone so beautifully, and placed it upon a high shelf in the cupboard.
When he drew near they found a soft-shell crab clinging fast to the stiff hair of the zebra's head, where it held on by one claw.
A CRAB said to her son, "Why do you walk so one-sided, my child?
Keeling Island -- Singular appearance -- Scanty Flora -- Transport of Seeds -- Birds and Insects -- Ebbing and flowing Springs -- Fields of dead Coral -- Stones transported in the roots of Trees -- Great Crab -- Stinging Corals -- Coral eating Fish -- Coral Formations -- Lagoon Islands, or Atolls -- Depth at which reef-building Corals can live -- Vast Areas interspersed with low Coral Islands -- Subsidence of their foundations -- Barrier Reefs -- Fringing Reefs -- Conversion of Fringing Reefs into Barrier Reefs, and into Atolls -- Evidence of changes in Level -- Breaches in Barrier Reefs -- Maldiva Atolls, their peculiar structure -- Dead and submerged Reefs -- Areas of subsidence and elevation -- Distribution of Volcanoes -- Subsidence slow, and vast in amount
'That was a nice crab you caught!' she remarked, as Alice got back into her place, very much relieved to find herself still in the boat.
Can you imagine a crab as large as yonder table, with its many legs moving slowly and uncertainly, its big claws swaying, its long antennae, like carters' whips, waving and feeling, and its stalked eyes gleaming at you on either side of its metallic front?
They mean heavy play and no mistake, and so old Brooke sees, and places Crab Jones in quarters just before the goal, with four or five picked players who are to keep the ball away to the sides, where a try at goal, if obtained, will be less dangerous than in front.
`What a pity it wouldn't stay!' sighed the Lory, as soon as it was quite out of sight; and an old Crab took the opportunity of saying to her daughter `Ah, my dear!
This must have happened quite at the end of my grandfather's life, for almost immediately afterwards, as it now seems to me, he died before he need have done because he would eat crab, a dish that never agreed with him, in the face of his doctor's warning that if he did he would surely die.
At the noise, a large Crab crawled slowly out of the water and, with a voice that sounded like a trombone suffering from a cold, he cried out:
AN ex-Legislator asked a Most Respectable Citizen for a letter to the Governor recommending him for appointment as Commissioner of Shrimps and Crabs.
--A sea full of many-hued fishes and crabs, for which even the Gods might long, and might be tempted to become fishers in it, and casters of nets,-- so rich is the world in wonderful things, great and small!