crabbier; crabbiest
informal
: easily irritated : peevish and irritable : grouchy
a crabby recluse
He gets crabby if he doesn't have his morning coffee.
She was in a crabby mood and got a certain amount of satisfaction out of pushing her sister's buttons.—
Isis Crawford
Isis Crawford
crabbiness
noun
… the waiters have shed Stalinist crabbiness in favor of Parisian-style contempt for the customer.
—Kati Marton
Kati Marton
Examples of crabby in a Sentence
She gets crabby if she doesn't get enough sleep.
a crabby old dog who snapped at passersby
Recent Examples on the Web
Her dissatisfaction with her crabby old husband drives her into the same state of amorous turmoil that Vanya and Sonya find themselves in.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2025
Read the full Aries Daily Horoscope Taurus (April 20 - May 20)
In a crabby mood?
—USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2025
Take the Lishman’s Deli sketch, in which Murphy’s Gumby character — the green clay stop-motion figure reimagined as a crabby Borscht Belt has-been — trades insults with a gang of alter kockers played by Crystal, Guest and Short, who reminisce and argue about sandwiches named for celebrities.
—James Poniewozik, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2025
California’s crabby conundrum Dungeness crabs are plucked from the Pacific to use for sushi rolls, salads and their namesake cakes.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crabby
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Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2025
Read the full Aries Daily Horoscope Taurus (April 20 - May 20)
In a crabby mood?
—USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2025
Take the Lishman’s Deli sketch, in which Murphy’s Gumby character — the green clay stop-motion figure reimagined as a crabby Borscht Belt has-been — trades insults with a gang of alter kockers played by Crystal, Guest and Short, who reminisce and argue about sandwiches named for celebrities.
—James Poniewozik, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2025
California’s crabby conundrum Dungeness crabs are plucked from the Pacific to use for sushi rolls, salads and their namesake cakes.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crabby
Cite this Entry
“Crabby.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crabby. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.
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