crab

Meanings

Plural: crabs

Noun

• decapod having eyes on short stalks and a broad flattened carapace with a small abdomen folded under the thorax and pincers
• a quarrelsome grouch
• (astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Cancer
• the fourth sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about June 21 to July 22
• the edible flesh of any of various crabs
• a louse that infests the pubic region of the human body
• a stroke of the oar that either misses the water or digs too deeply
  • "he caught a crab and lost the race"
• Any crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, having five pairs of legs, the foremost of which are in the form of claws, and a carapace.
• The meat of this crustacean, served as food; crabmeat.
• Various other animals that resemble true crabs:
• Any of various crustacean in the infraorder Anomura, usually excluding squat lobsters.
• Various other animals that resemble true crabs:
• A horseshoe crab.
• A bad-tempered person.
• An infestation of pubic lice (Pthirus pubis).
• The angle by which an aircraft's nose is pointed upwind of its groundtrack to compensate for crosswinds during an approach to landing; its crab angle.
• A playing card with the rank of three.
• A position in rowing where the oar is pushed under the rigger by the force of the water.
• A defect in an outwardly normal object that may render it inconvenient and troublesome to use.
• An unsold book that is returned to the publisher.
• The crab apple or wild apple.
• The tree bearing crab apples, which has a dogbane-like bitter bark with medical use.
• A cudgel made of the wood of the crab tree; a crabstick.
• A movable winch or windlass with powerful gearing, used with derricks, etc.
• A form of windlass, or geared capstan, for hauling ships into dock, etc.
• A machine used in ropewalks to stretch the yarn.
• A claw for anchoring a portable machine.
• The tree species Carapa guianensis, native to South America.
• Clipping of carabiner, modified based on likening the shape of a carabiner to a crab's claw.

Verb

• direct (an aircraft) into a crosswind
• scurry sideways like a crab
• fish for crab
• complain
• To fish for crabs.
• To ruin.
• To complain.
• To complain about.
• To drift or move sideways or to leeward (by analogy with the movement of a crab).
• To move in a manner that involves keeping low and clinging to surfaces.
• To move (a camera) sideways.
• To navigate (an aircraft, e.g. a glider) sideways against an air current in order to maintain a straight-line course.
• 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.
• To back out of something.
• To irritate, make surly or sour
• To be ill-tempered; to complain or find fault.
• To cudgel or beat, as with a crabstick
• To offend or insult.

Synonyms

beef, bellyache, bitch, Cancer, Cancer the Crab, crab apple, crab louse, crabby person, crabmeat, gripe, grouse, holler, Phthirius pubis, pubic louse, squawk