crab apple

noun

: any of various wild or cultivated trees (genus Malus) that are cultivars or relatives of the cultivated apple and that produce small sour fruit

also : the fruit

Examples of crab apple in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

With the exception of the bitter crab apple, which is native to North America, the apple’s origins lay far away; initially from Central Asia, the sweet fruit wasn’t introduced to the continent until at least the 1500s. —Victoria Flexner, The Atlantic, 9 Oct. 2025

Fill the vase with beautiful crab apple branches full of ripe fruits and lush leaves, and place it on a small table near your front door. —Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Oct. 2025

Ruffed grouse are attracted by the fruit of a small, gnarled growth called the Oregon crab apple. —Worth Matthewson, Outdoor Life, 2 Oct. 2025

Visitors from the city are transported into another realm adorned with fresh lavender and crab apple trees, and Sardinian donkeys. —Natasha Gural, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

crab entry 3

First Known Use

1680, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for crab apple

• appal
• chapel
• dapple
• grapple
• pineapple

Kids Definition

crab apple

noun

: any of several cultivated or wild trees related to the apple tree and producing a small sour fruit

also : the fruit