crab

crab ¹  (krb)

n.

1.

a. Any of various predominantly marine crustaceans of the division Brachyura within the order Decapoda, characterized by a broad flattened cephalothorax covered by a hard carapace with a small abdomen concealed beneath it, short antennae, and five pairs of legs, of which the anterior pair are large and pincerlike.

b. Any of various similar related crustaceans, such as the hermit crab or king crab.

c. A horseshoe crab.

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.

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

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crab·ber n.

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crab ²  (krb)

n.

1. A crab apple 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.

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

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crabber n.

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crab

Noun

1. an edible shellfish with five pairs of legs, the first pair modified into pincers

2. short for crab louse

3. catch a crab Rowing to make a stroke in which the oar misses the water or digs too deeply, causing the rower to fall backwards [Old English crabba]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	crab - 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 crabby person crank, crosspatch, grouch, grump, churl - a bad-tempered person
	3.	Crab - (astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Cancer 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 Cancer the Crab, Cancer
	5.	crab - the edible flesh of any of various crabs crabmeat 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 body crab louse, Phthirius pubis, pubic louse louse, sucking louse - wingless usually flattened bloodsucking insect parasitic on warm-blooded animals genus Phthirius, genus Phthirus, Phthirius, Phthirus - true lice: crab lice
	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
Verb	1.	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 - complain; "What was he hollering about?" beef, bellyache, bitch, gripe, grouse, squawk, holler 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"

Translations

crab [kræb] n → cangrejo

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crab [kræb] n → crabe m

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crab [kræb] n → Krabbe f, Krebs m;

(meat) → Krabbe f

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crab [kræb] n → granchio