Background for crab

crab

/kɹæb/

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noun

A crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, having five pairs of legs, the foremost of which are in the form of claws, and a carapace.

Examples :

"The crab scurried across the sandy beach, its large claws outstretched. "

animal biology nature ocean food

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noun

The meat of this crustacean, served as food; crabmeat

Examples :

"We had crab for dinner last night, and it was delicious with garlic butter. "

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noun

A bad-tempered person.

Examples :

"My boss is a real crab; he gets angry over the smallest things. "

person character attitude

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noun

(in plural crabs) An infestation of pubic lice (Pthirus pubis).

Examples :

"Although crabs themselves are an easily treated inconvenience, the patient and his partner(s) clearly run major STD risks."

medicine disease insect biology organism microorganism sex body anatomy

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noun

A playing card with the rank of three.

Examples :

"My younger brother drew a crab on his playing cards during the game. "

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noun

A position in rowing where the oar is pushed under the rigger by the force of the water.

Examples :

"The rower adopted a crab position to get the boat moving quickly. "

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noun

A defect in an outwardly normal object that may render it inconvenient and troublesome to use.

Examples :

"The new office chair looked perfect, but a hidden crab in the height adjustment made it constantly slip downwards. "

technical device machine technology quality

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noun

An unsold book that is returned to the publisher.

Examples :

"The bookstore returned the copy of the new mystery novel to the publisher as a crab. "

business literature

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verb

To fish for crabs.

Examples :

"My grandfather crabs for dinner in the bay every Saturday. "

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verb

Examples :

"The bad weather completely crabbed my plans for a picnic. "

negative action

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verb

Examples :

""My roommate always crabs about the noise when I practice my guitar." "

attitude character language

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verb

To drift or move sideways or to leeward (by analogy with the movement of a crab).

Examples :

"The sailboat crabbed across the lake, pushed gently by the wind. "

nautical sailing direction

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verb

To navigate (an aircraft, e.g. a glider) sideways against an air current in order to maintain a straight-line course.

Examples :

"The glider pilot had to crab to stay on course for the landing spot. "

technical vehicle nautical

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verb

To move (a camera) sideways.

Examples :

"To film the action clearly, the photographer crabbed the camera sideways. "

media entertainment technology

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verb

(World War I), to fly slightly off the straight-line course towards an enemy aircraft, as the machine guns on early aircraft did not allow firing through the propeller disk.

Examples :

"The pilot crabbed the plane slightly to the right to get a better shot at the enemy aircraft. "

military war vehicle machine technical history

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verb

To back out of something.

Examples :

"He promised to help me move, but he crabbed at the last minute, leaving me to do it alone. "

attitude action

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noun

The crab apple or wild apple.

Examples :

"My grandmother's orchard has many crab trees, and we often pick the crab apples for pies. "

fruit plant food nature

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noun

The tree bearing crab apples, which has a dogbane-like bitter bark with medical use.

Examples :

"My grandmother's garden has a crab tree, known for its distinctive bitter bark that's used for traditional remedies. "

plant medicine fruit

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noun

A cudgel made of the wood of the crab tree; a crabstick.

Examples :

"The carpenter used a crab to pound the nails into the wood. "

material utensil weapon

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noun

A movable winch or windlass with powerful gearing, used with derricks, etc.

Examples :

"The construction crew used a large crab to hoist the heavy beams onto the roof. "

technical machine nautical

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noun

A form of windlass, or geared capstan, for hauling ships into dock, etc.

Examples :

"The harbor workers used the large crab to pull the ship closer to the dock. "

nautical machine

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noun

A machine used in ropewalks to stretch the yarn.

Examples :

"The ropewalk workers used a special crab to stretch the yarn for the new fishing nets. "

machine nautical technical industry

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noun

A claw for anchoring a portable machine.

Examples :

"The technician used a crab to securely fasten the portable X-ray machine to the uneven hospital floor. "

machine technical

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verb

(obsolete) To irritate, make surly or sour

Examples :

"His boss's criticism of his report really crabbed him all morning. "

character attitude emotion

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verb

To be ill-tempered; to complain or find fault.

Examples :

"My brother always crabs about the school cafeteria food. "

attitude character emotion

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verb

(British dialect) To cudgel or beat, as with a crabstick

Examples :

"The school bully used to threaten to crab smaller children with his walking stick if they didn't give him their lunch money. "

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noun

The tree species Carapa guianensis, native to South America.

Examples :

"The botanist studied the crab tree, a species of Carapa guianensis, in the tropical forest exhibit. "

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noun

Short for carabiner.

Examples :

"I used a crab to attach my backpack to the climbing frame. "

technical device