hermit crab

noun

: any of numerous chiefly marine small decapod crustaceans (especially families Diogenidae, Paguridae, and Parapaguridae) having soft asymmetrical abdomens and occupying the empty shells of gastropods

Illustration of hermit crab

Examples of hermit crab in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While there is an on-site restaurant, bar, meeting house, freshwater pool, and gift shop, the grounds themselves are rustic, palm tree-lined, and a refuge for thousands of adorable, unobtrusive hermit crabs. — Joey Skladany, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Sep. 2026

There is also a lizard, four hermit crabs, a toothed frog, and a wall-size fish tank that the kids built with their father; its filtration system is based on the workings of a kidney. — Melanie Thernstrom, New Yorker, 29 June 2026

What do hermit crabs do on Father's Day? — Jamie Fischer, Parents, 20 June 2026

Avoid giving your hermit crab wood from apple, mango, hemlock or yew trees, though, as these can have toxic bark. — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 15 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1735, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hermit crab

• taxicab
• ab
• cab
• dab
• drab
• fab
• gab
• grab
• jab
• lab
• mab
• nab

Kids Definition

hermit crab

noun

: any of various small crabs that occupy empty mollusk shells