crab

  • noun 1 a marine crustacean, some kinds of which are edible, with a broad shell and five pairs of legs, the first of which are modified as pincers. 2 (crabs) informal an infestation of crab lice.

  • verb 1 move sideways or obliquely. 2 fish for crabs.

  — PHRASES catch a crab Rowing make a faulty stroke in which the oar is jammed under the water or misses the water completely.

  — DERIVATIVES crabber noun crablike adjective & adverb.

  — ORIGIN Old English.

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