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crabbed

 - 9 dictionary results
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crab⋅bed

  [krab-id]
Use crabbed in a Sentence
–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.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME; see crab 1 , -ed 3

Related forms:
crab⋅bed⋅ly, adverb
crab⋅bed⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. cross, peevish, cantankerous.
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crab

1  [krab] noun, verb, crabbed, crab⋅bing.
–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. any of various mechanical contrivances for hoisting or pulling.
6. Aeronautics. the maneuver of crabbing.
7. Informal. the crab louse. See under louse (def. 1).
8. crabs,
a. (used with a singular verb) a losing throw, as two aces, in the game of hazard.
b. pediculosis.
–verb (used without object)
9. to catch or attempt to catch crabs.
10. to move sideways, diagonally, or obliquely, esp. 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, esp. when under tow.
–verb (used with object)
13. to move (a vehicle or object) sideways, diagonally, or obliquely, esp. with short, abrupt movements.
14. Aeronautics. to head (an aircraft) partly into the wind to compensate for drift.
—Idiom
15. catch a crab, to make a faulty stroke in rowing, so that the oar strikes the water forcibly on the backstroke.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME crabbe, OE crabba; c. D krab, ON krabbi; akin to G Krebs

Related forms:
crablike, adjective

crab

3  [krab] noun, verb, crabbed, crab⋅bing.
–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; ME; back formation from crabbed

Related forms:
crabber, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To crabbed
crab 1   (krāb)   
n.  

    1. Any of various predominantly marine crustaceans of the division Brachyura within the order Decapoda, characterized by a broad flattened cephalothorax covered by a hard carapace with a small abdomen concealed beneath it, short antennae, and five pairs of legs, of which the anterior pair are large and pincerlike.

    2. Any of various similar related crustaceans, such as the hermit crab or king crab.

    3. A horseshoe crab.

    4. A crab louse.

    5. crabs Slang Infestation by crab lice.

    1. A crab louse.

    2. crabs Slang Infestation by crab lice.

  3. The maneuvering of an aircraft partially into a crosswind to compensate for drift.

  4. A machine for handling or hoisting heavy weights.

v.   crabbed, crab·bing, crabs

v.   intr.

  1. To hunt or catch crabs.

  2. To scurry sideways in the manner of a crab.

  3. To drift diagonally or sideways, especially when under tow.

  4. To direct an aircraft into a crosswind.

v.   tr.

  1. To direct (an aircraft) partly into a crosswind to eliminate drift.

  2. To cause to move or scurry sideways.


[Middle English crabbe, from Old English crabba; see gerbh- in Indo-European roots.]
crab·ber n.
crab 2   (krāb)   
n.  

  1. A crab apple tree or its fruit.

  2. A quarrelsome, ill-tempered person.

v.   crabbed, crab·bing, crabs

v.   intr. Informal
To find fault; criticize someone or something.
v.   tr.

  1. Informal To interfere with and ruin; spoil.

  2. Informal To find fault with; complain about.

  3. To make ill-tempered or sullen.


[Middle English crabbe, possibly from crabbe, crab (shellfish); see crab1.]
crab'ber n.
crab·bed   (krāb'ĭd)   
adj.  

  1. Irritable and perverse in disposition; ill-tempered.

  2. Difficult to understand; complicated.

  3. Difficult to read; cramped: crabbed handwriting.


[Middle English, from crabbe, crab (influenced by crab2); see crab1.]
crab'bed·ly adv., crab'bed·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
crab

  1. n.
    a louse. (Usually plural.) : He's scratching like he's got crabs.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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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" (c.1420) may be from unrelated Scand. scrab, of 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, though crabby in this sense is Amer.Eng. 18c. Crabgrass is 1597, originally a marine grass of salt marshes; modern meaning is from 1743.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: crab
Pronunciation: 'krab
Function: noun
1 : any of a tribe (Brachyura) of chiefly marine crustaceans with a short broad usuallyflattened carapace, a small abdomen that curls forward beneath the body, short antennae, and the anterior pair of limbs modified as grasping pincers
2 crabs pl : infestation with crab lice
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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