crab
crab — noun
- crabsingular
- crabsplural
1. An animal that lives in the sea or near the coast, with a hard round shell, ten
An animal that lives in the sea or near the coast, with a hard round shell, ten legs, and two claws that it uses to catch food and fight. The meat of this animal is also eaten as food.
On weekends, Ishaan hunts for crabs in the rock pools near his seaside home.
countable: animal; collocation: hunt for crabs
The restaurant served fresh crab with a dipping sauce made from ginger and vinegar.
uncountable: meat as food
Kenji watched a crab on the beach use its front claw to crack open a snail shell before eating it.
concrete scene: specific animal behaviour
A large crab crawled sideways across the sand and then hid in a hole.
Felix ordered crab noodles at the night market and loved the sweet meat.
uncountable crab as ingredient in dishes
- hunt for crabs
- catch crabs
- crab meat
- crab soup
- crab shell
- crab claw
- crustacean
a broader scientific category that includes crabs, lobsters, and shrimp; not used in everyday speech
- shellfish
a broader term covering all sea animals with a shell; less specific than crab
Grammar Patterns
crab (countable) — an animal
crab (uncountable) — meat as food
Usage Note
When referring to the animal, crab is countable (one crab, two crabs). When referring to the meat, it is uncountable (some crab, a lot of crab).
Common Mistakes
2. A medical condition in which small parasitic insects called pubic lice live in a
A medical condition in which small parasitic insects called pubic lice live in a person's pubic hair and cause itching.
The nurse told Jessica that crabs can be treated with medicated cream from the pharmacy.
collocation: treated with [product]
Obi felt embarrassed when the doctor told him the itching was caused by crabs.
always plural: the crabs / caused by crabs
Salma felt relieved when the pharmacist said the crabs would clear up within a week.
collocation: crabs would clear up (resolve)
The health clinic gave out leaflets to college students, warning them about the risk of getting crabs from shared bedding.
collocation: risk of getting crabs; transmission via shared bedding
- have crabs
- get crabs
- treat crabs
- crabs infection
- pubic lice
the formal medical term
- lice
a broader term; crabs are a specific type of lice
Grammar Patterns
have crabs
get crabs
Usage Note
Always used in the plural form in this sense, even when referring to a single case. Often preceded by 'have,' 'get,' or 'contract.'
Common Mistakes
3. A position in yoga or fitness training where a person sits on the floor, places
A position in yoga or fitness training where a person sits on the floor, places the hands and feet flat, lifts the hips and stomach upward, and balances on the hands and feet with the face and chest facing the ceiling.
Aylin held the crab pose for nearly a minute, strengthening her arms and her back.
collocation: hold the crab pose
The yoga instructor demonstrated the crab pose while the class followed along on their mats.
Léa found the crab pose difficult because her wrists were not strong enough yet.
Antonia practised the crab pose daily until she could hold it for a full minute.
collocation: practise the crab pose
- hold the crab pose
- do the crab pose
- crab position
- reverse tabletop
the common English name for this position in fitness training
Grammar Patterns
the crab pose
hold the crab pose
Usage Note
Usually used with the definite article: 'the crab pose' or 'the crab position.' The pose is also called 'crab pose' in yoga and 'reverse tabletop' in general fitness.
Common Mistakes
4. The star sign that is pictured as a crab, also called Cancer. In Western astrolo
The star sign that is pictured as a crab, also called Cancer. In Western astrology, this sign covers people whose birthdays fall between late June and late July.
Sivan reads her horoscope every morning and believes that crabs are especially lucky this month.
collocation: be a crab / crabs are [trait]
At the party, friends teased Joshua for being so protective, like a true crab.
collocation: like a true crab (zodiac personality)
Alessia does not follow astrology, but her mother checks the crab horoscope every single day.
Today's newspaper horoscope says crabs like Nora will have a great week for making new friends at work.
collocation: crabs will have [trait/week]; specific person example
- be a crab
- crab horoscope
- crab sign
- born under the sign of the crab
- Cancer
the formal Latin name for this zodiac sign, used in horoscopes and astrology
Grammar Patterns
be a crab
the Crab (as zodiac sign)
Usage Note
Often capitalized when referring to the zodiac sign. Also called Cancer, which is the formal astrological name. The sign covers approximately June 22 to July 22.
Common Mistakes
crab — verb
- crabpresent simple I / you / we / they
- crabs3rd person singular
- crabbing-ing form
- crabbedpast simple
1. To try to catch crabs from the sea or shore, usually for food or as a leisure ac
To try to catch crabs from the sea or shore, usually for food or as a leisure activity.
Minh goes crabbing with her father every summer at the pier near their holiday house.
pattern: go crabbing
You need a strong net and some bait if you want to go crabbing here.
The family spent the whole afternoon crabbing off the wooden dock by the river mouth.
pattern: spend [time] crabbing
The local children spent the morning crabbing from the old jetty, using nets and bits of fish for bait.
pattern: spend [time] crabbing; typical gerund form
- go crabbing
- crabbing trip
- crabbing net
- crabbing season
- fish for crabs
a more explicit equivalent; 'crab' as a verb already implies fishing
Grammar Patterns
go crabbing
spend [time] crabbing
Usage Note
Most commonly used in the -ing form: 'go crabbing.' The simple form ('I crab') is rarely used; instead, say 'I go crabbing' or 'I caught crabs.'
Common Mistakes
2. To move or slide from side to side rather than straight forward, like a crab whe
To move or slide from side to side rather than straight forward, like a crab when it walks.
To avoid the roadworks, the van crabbed through the narrow alley behind the bakery.
pattern: crab + through [narrow space]
A startled cat crabbed sideways when it saw the large dog running toward it.
The current pushed the swimmer off course, so he crabbed at an angle toward shore.
The delivery truck crabbed sideways through the narrow gate before backing into the warehouse.
pattern: crab + sideways + through [narrow space]; vehicle subject
- crab sideways
- crab through
- crab across
- sidle
similar meaning but usually describes a person moving sideways in a cautious or nervous way
- edge sideways
more common in everyday speech for cautious sideways movement
Grammar Patterns
crab + adverb/preposition (sideways, across, through)
Usage Note
Describes a sideways or diagonal motion, not normal forward movement. Often used for vehicles or animals moving cautiously or under difficult conditions.
Common Mistakes
3. To turn a plane's nose slightly toward the oncoming side wind, keeping the aircr
To turn a plane's nose slightly toward the oncoming side wind, keeping the aircraft on its intended path above the ground.
Brian watched the pilot crab the small plane left during the bumpy landing.
pattern: crab + aircraft + direction
During the bumpy crosswind landing, Captain Tariq showed the co-pilot how to crab the plane toward the runway centerline.
concrete scene: named pilot in crosswind landing scenario
The captain decided to crab the airliner gently into the wind during the final approach.
Without crabbing, the small plane would have drifted far left of the runway centre.
aviation term: without crabbing
- crab the plane
- crab the aircraft
- crabbed approach
- fly a crabbed approach
the full aviation term for this technique
Grammar Patterns
crab + aircraft + direction phrase
Usage Note
A technical aviation term. Not used in everyday conversation. Refers to a specific flying technique where the aircraft's nose points into the wind while the path over the ground is straight.
Common Mistakes
4. To complain in an annoyed or bitter way, especially about things that are not ve
To complain in an annoyed or bitter way, especially about things that are not very important.
Lisa spent the whole car journey crabbing about the slow traffic and the hot weather.
pattern: crab about [something]
Justin's grandfather is always crabbing about how young people behave these days.
Customers at the back of the queue began crabbing about the long wait.
Antonia's uncle crabbed about the food prices before ordering anything from the menu.
collocation: crab about [something] before [action]
- crab about
- always crabbing
- keep crabbing
- praise
to express approval or admiration
Grammar Patterns
crab about [something]
Usage Note
Informal and slightly old-fashioned. Implies repeated, irritable complaining about everyday annoyances rather than a serious grievance.
Common Mistakes
Word family
- crabbingnoun
- crabbernoun
- crabbyadjectiveC1
- crabwiseadverb
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
Crab, lobster, shrimp, and crayfish are all crustaceans with hard outer shells, but they differ in size, body shape, and habitat. Crabs have a wide, flat body and move sideways; they are found in both sea and fresh water. Lobsters are larger, with a long tail and two large claws, and they live mainly in cold ocean waters. Shrimp are much smaller, with a curved body that narrows toward the tail, and they are often sold peeled. Crayfish look like tiny lobsters but live in freshwater rivers and streams. In cooking, crab meat is sweet and delicate, lobster is firm and rich, shrimp is mild and versatile, and crayfish are common in Cajun-style dishes. For example, you would order 'steamed crab' at a Cantonese restaurant but 'grilled lobster' at a Western steakhouse.
Common collocations
Etymology
The word crab comes from Old English crabba, which belongs to a family of words in Germanic languages (Old Norse krabbi, Dutch krab, German Krabbe). These words may be related to an ancient root meaning 'to scratch or claw,' referring to the animal's pincers. By the 1500s, crab was already being used as a verb meaning 'to complain,' based on the idea that crabs are irritable creatures. The zodiac sense came through Latin Cancer ('crab'), and the yoga pose was named in the 1900s because the position looks like a crab resting on its legs.
First known use
12th century
12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Verb (1)