to crab
- verb
- /kræb/
- To sneak out unnoticed, I had to crab carefully around the sleeping dog.
- crab sideways
- crab-walk
Examples
-
He quickly crab walked along the narrow path to avoid the mud puddle.
-
During the game, she had to crab sideways to get past the other players.
-
The vampire drops the knight, who crabs backwards into a corner.
Fiction book (1992) -
For instance, one time down (the floor), the children had to bear-crawl and then crab-walk back.
Academic text (2004)
Synonyms
Climb quickly using your hands and feet on steep or rough ground
Compounds
The remains of a star explosion that people first saw in 1054 in the constellation Taurus
- Specialized
A large sea animal with a hard shell shaped like a horseshoe and a long pointed tail
- US
A bluish crab that lives on North America's Atlantic and Gulf coasts and is eaten for its sweet meat
- US
A large edible crab with a hard shell found in Florida and southern US waters, often eaten for its meat
A very large crab that lives in cold northern seas near Alaska with a spiny shell and sweet meat
A crab that has a hard outer covering because it has not recently shed its skin
- Specialized
A small insect that lives in pubic hair and other body hair and makes the skin itch
- Philippine
A habit of trying to pull others down when they succeed because you feel jealous
A South American cactus with stem sections often kept indoors for its bright red flowers
A wild animal like a small dog from northern South America that eats crabs and small animals
- Philippine
A monkey from Southeast Asia that often eats crabs and lives near rivers
Small wild animal that lives near water and eats crabs and other small water animals
A silvery grey seal from Antarctica that eats mainly small sea animals with shells
- Specialized
A small apple tree grown for its tart fruit or pretty spring flowers
A large crab that lives in cold northern Pacific waters near Alaska and Japan
Meat from the legs of a large crab that lives in cold northern waters, usually sweet and tender
The sweet meat from the legs of a very large crab that lives in cold northern seas near Alaska
A small crab with a bright, spotted shell that lives on sandy east coast beaches of the United States
- Indian
A sea animal with a hard shell and a long tail spine that lives on Asian coasts
A large crab with long legs and a spiny shell that lives in European coastal waters
- US
A small crab that lives on coasts and digs burrows, whose males have one large claw they wave
- US
A small crab with bright purple spots on its shell that lives on sandy Atlantic beaches
A tropical sea animal like a crab that lives in burrows and uses large front claws to catch prey
- US
A medium-sized tree from the eastern United States with pink blossoms and small yellow fruit
- US
A small wild apple tree that grows in the western United States and has fragrant pink flowers
A sea crab with back legs flat like paddles that help it swim in shallow coastal water
A small tree or shrub from the southeastern United States grown for its pretty pink spring flowers
How Fast
Surface Forms
Etymology
Crab as a verb meaning to move sideways comes straight from the animal, because crabs walk at an angle and so to 'crab' is to move in the same sideways way.