Nearby Words
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adjective
1.
grouchy; ill-natured; irritable; churlish.
2.
perverse; contrary; obstinate.
3.
hard to understand; intricate and obscure.
4.
difficult to read or decipher, as handwriting.
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Crabbed
is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
noun
1.
any decapod crustacean of the suborder Brachyura, having the eyes on short stalks and a short, broad, more or less flattened body, the abdomen being small and folded under the thorax.
2.
any of various other crustaceans, as the hermit crab, or other animals, as the horseshoe crab, resembling the true crabs.
3.
(initial capital letter) Astronomy, Astrology. the zodiacal constellation or sign Cancer.
4.
(initial capital letter) Astronomy. the Crab Nebula.
5.
EXPANDany of various mechanical contrivances for hoisting or pulling.
verb (used without object)
9.
to catch or attempt to catch crabs.
10.
to move sideways, diagonally, or obliquely, especially with short, abrupt bursts of speed; scuttle.
11.
Aeronautics. (of an aircraft) to head partly into the wind to compensate for drift.
12.
Nautical. to drift or advance with some movement sideways, especially when under tow.
verb (used with object)
Idiom13.
to move (a vehicle or object) sideways, diagonally, or obliquely, especially with short, abrupt movements.
14.
Aeronautics. to head (an aircraft) partly into the wind to compensate for drift.
15.
catch a crab, to make a faulty stroke in rowing, so that the oar strikes the water forcibly on the backstroke.
Origin:
before 1000; Middle English crabbe, Old English crabba; cognate with Dutch krab, Old Norse krabbi; akin to German Krebs
before 1000; Middle English crabbe, Old English crabba; cognate with Dutch krab, Old Norse krabbi; akin to German Krebs
Related forms
crab·like, adjective
noun
1.
Informal. an ill-tempered or grouchy person.
verb (used without object)
2.
Informal. to find fault; complain.
3.
(of hawks) to claw each other.
verb (used with object)
4.
Informal. to find fault with.
5.
to make ill-tempered or grouchy; embitter.
6.
(of a hawk) to claw (another hawk).
7.
Slang. to spoil.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English; back formation from crabbed
1350–1400; Middle English; back formation from crabbed
Related forms
crab·ber, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To Crabbed
Collins
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
crab
O.E. crabba, from a general Gmc. root (cf. Low Ger. krabben "to scratch, claw"). The constellation name is attested in Eng. from c.1000; the Crab Nebula (1868), however, is in Taurus, and is so called for its shape. Crab "fruit of the wild apple tree" (early 15c.) may be from unrelated Scandinavian scrab,
EXPANDof obscure origin. The combination of "bad-tempered, combative" and "sour" in the two words naturally yielded a meaning of "complain irritably," which is pre-1400. Crabgrass is c.1600, originally a marine grass of salt marshes; modern meaning is from 1743.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
crab definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Dynamo Rating For Crabbed
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