crab

B2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈkræb/ UK /kɹæb/ See IPA manual

Freq #6013

Meanings

1

noun
A sea creature with a hard shell, ten legs, and large front claws.

We watched a crab scuttle sideways across the beach.
2

noun
The meat of this creature, eaten as food.

We ordered fresh crab at the seafood restaurant.
3

noun
A bad-tempered, irritable person.

Don't be such a crab — it's only a game.
4

verb
To complain in an annoyed way.

The children crabbed about the long car journey.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · the meat of this creature,... crabmeat

4 verb · to complain in an annoyed way. gripe grouse

Word family

Forms crabbedcrabbingcrablikecrabs

Derived forms anticrabapplecrabbook-crabcrab's-eyecrab-applecrab-batcrab-canoncrab-catchercrab-clawcrab-eatercrab-eatingcrab-face

Etymology

From Middle English crabbe, from Old English crabba (“crab; crayfish; cancer”), from Proto-West Germanic *krabbō, from Proto-Germanic *krabbô, from *krabbōną (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-Indo-European *grobʰeh₂yéti (“scratch, claw at”), a metathesised o-grade of *gerbʰ- (“to carve, scratch”). More at carve. Cognates See also Dutch krab, Low German Krabb, Danish krabbe, Swedish krabba. Further cognates with frequentative-infix are Saterland Frisian krabbelje (“to creep, crawl”), Dutch krabbelen (“to scratch”) and German krabbeln (“to crawl”). Possibly related to English creep and Swedish kry…

*gerbʰ- Proto-Indo-European crabbe Middle English crabba Old English *krabbō Proto-West Germanic *krabbô Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

External links

# crab

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈkræb/
**IPA (UK):** /kɹæb/
**Frequency rank:** 6013

## Meanings
1. A sea creature with a hard shell, ten legs, and large front claws.
2. The meat of this creature, eaten as food.
3. A bad-tempered, irritable person.
4. To complain in an annoyed way.

## Examples
- We watched a crab scuttle sideways across the beach.
- We ordered fresh crab at the seafood restaurant.
- Don't be such a crab — it's only a game.
- The children crabbed about the long car journey.

## Derived Forms
- anticrab
- applecrab
- book-crab
- crab's-eye
- crab-apple
- crab-bat
- crab-canon
- crab-catcher
- crab-claw
- crab-eater
- crab-eating
- crab-face

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *gerbʰ-
- Root: crabbe
- Root: crabba
- Root: *krabbō
- Root: *krabbô

## Etymology
From Middle English crabbe, from Old English crabba (“crab; crayfish; cancer”), from Proto-West Germanic *krabbō, from Proto-Germanic *krabbô, from *krabbōną (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-Indo-European *grobʰeh₂yéti (“scratch, claw at”), a metathesised o-grade of *gerbʰ- (“to carve, scratch”). More at carve. Cognates See also Dutch krab, Low German Krabb, Danish krabbe, Swedish krabba. Further cognates with frequentative-infix are Saterland Frisian krabbelje (“to creep, crawl”), Dutch krabbelen (“to scratch”) and German krabbeln (“to crawl”). Possibly related to English creep and Swedish kry…

## AI Etymology
crab comes from Middle English crabbe, from Old English crabba (“crab; crayfish; cancer”), from Proto-West Germanic *krabbō, from Proto-Germanic *krabbô, from *krabbōną (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-Indo-European *grobʰeh₂yéti (“scratch, claw at”), a metathesised o-grade of *gerbʰ- (“to carve, scratch”). More at carve. Cognates See also Dutch krab, Low German Krabb, Danish krabbe, Swedish krabba. Further cognates with frequentative-infix are Saterland Frisian krabbelje (“to creep, crawl”), Dutch krabbelen (“to scratch”) and German krabbeln (“to crawl”). Current senses include A sea creature with a hard shell, ten legs, and large front claws and The meat of this creature, eaten as food. English relatives and later formations include anticrab, applecrab, book-crab.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Food & Drink

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crab

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