noun
crab
krab
noun
1
A sea creature with a hard shell, pincers, and a sideways walk.
"We caught a bucket of crabs off the pier."
verb
1
To complain or grumble.
"He kept crabbing about the delayed flight."
2
To move sideways or drift off course, as an aircraft does against crosswind.
"The pilot had to crab the plane into the wind to line up with the runway."
How to Use Crab
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe sea creature, or, informally, to complain.
Common pairings
catch crabs
crab about something
crab meat
Word Forms
crabbed past tense, crabbed past tense, crabs plural, crabs plural, Crabs plural, crabs singular, crabs singular
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Etymology
From Old English crabba, an ancient Germanic word for the shelled sea creature; the "complain" sense likely grew from the animal's irritable, snapping reputation.