crab spider

noun

|Updated on: 18 Jul 2018

Definition of crab spider

: any of a family (Thomisidae) of spiders that resemble crabs in shape and in being able to walk forward, backward, and sideways

Recent Examples of crab spider from the Web

The specimens that Cho used in his experiment only measured between 0.12 and 0.24 inches long, but crab spiders are actually larger than most ballooning arachnids, making them good candidates for study.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "Before Soaring Through the Air, Tiny Crab Spiders Study the Wind," 18 June 2018
The flights of spiders are well known, but not their physics, so Mr. Cho tested crab spiders both in nature and in a wind tunnel, and discovered, among other things, what holds the spiders up in the air.

— james gorman, New York Times, "How Spiders Fly," 26 June 2018
Researcher Moonsung Cho studied one of these species, the crab spider.

— avery thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Amazing Footage Reveals How Spiders Fly," 15 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'crab spider.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.