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| the figure of the moon in its first or last quarter, resembling a segment of a ring tapering to points at the ends |
| any of various groups of stars to which definite names have been given and the section of the heavens occupied by such a group, such as Ursa Major, Andromeda |
| crab1 (kræb) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | fiddler crab soft-shell crab pea crab See also oyster crab any chiefly marine decapod crustacean of the genus Cancer and related genera (section Brachyura), having a broad flattened carapace covering the cephalothorax, beneath which is folded the abdomen. The first pair of limbs are modified as pincersRelated: cancroid |
| 2. | any of various similar or related arthropods, such as the hermit crab and horseshoe crab |
| 3. | short for crab louse |
| 4. | a manoeuvre in which an aircraft flies slightly into the crosswind to compensate for drift |
| 5. | a mechanical lifting device, esp the travelling hoist of a gantry crane |
| 6. | wrestling See Boston crab |
| 7. | rowing catch a crab to make a stroke in which the oar either misses the water or digs too deeply, causing the rower to fall backwards |
| —vb , crabs, crabbing, crabbed | |
| 8. | (intr) to hunt or catch crabs |
| 9. | (tr) to fly (an aircraft) slightly into a crosswind to compensate for drift |
| 10. | (intr) nautical to move forwards with a slight sideways motion, as to overcome an offsetting current |
| 11. | (intr) to move sideways |
| Related: cancroid | |
| [Old English crabba; related to Old Norse krabbi, Old High German krebiz crab, Dutch krabben to scratch] | |
| crab3 (kræb) | |
| —n | |
| short for crab apple | |
| [C15: perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Swedish skrabbe crab apple] | |
crab definition
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