crabber
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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.
Idiom: 1. To direct (an aircraft) partly into a crosswind to eliminate drift.
2. To cause to move or scurry sideways.
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.
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.
Crab
(krăb)n.
See Cancer.
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.
crabber
(ˈkræbə)n
1. (Fishing) a crab fisherman
2. (Fishing) a boat used for crab-fishing
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
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