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Glite Dictionary
swimming crab

swimming crab

3.5
A sea crab with back legs flat like paddles that help it swim in shallow coastal water
  • noun
  • /ˈswɪmɪŋ kræb/
translation icon : cangrejo nadador
  • The swimming crab glided gracefully through the shallow water near the shore.

Examples

  • The distinctive paddle-shaped legs help the swimming crab escape from predators quickly.

  • Look at that swimming crab!

  • Fishermen often catch swimming crabs in coastal bays because of their abundance.

  • The swimming crab darted quickly across the sandy bottom.

  • The swimming crab is often seen scuttling along the sandy bottom of the shallow coastal waters.

  • During the summer, the swimming crab can be spotted darting between rocks and seaweed in the tide pools.

  • Fishermen love to catch the swimming crab because they are abundant in the warm, shallow waters near the shore.

Surface Forms

swimming crab singular
swimming crabs plural

Morphology

swimming + crab

The meaning of 'swimming crab' is directly compositional: 'swimming' (related to swim) modifies 'crab', so a learner who knows both words can infer it is a crab that swims or has swimming-adapted legs. This present-participle + noun pattern is a common, cross-linguistic modifier construction, making the expression immediately understandable to B1 learners.

Etymology

Swimming crab gets its name from the crab's flat back legs that act like small paddles and help the crab 'swim' through shallow water. So the name means a crab that swims rather than walks.