as in bear
an irritable and complaining person
you're always such a crab in the morning!
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to complain
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely
their two-year-old whined and crabbed for the whole car trip
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to damage
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
crabbed the blossoming romance by becoming moody and demanding
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crab
N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 19 Feb. 2026
The fish may be ordered with French fries, onion rings and coleslaw on the side or, as a platter with a little bit of everything, including salmon, oysters, shrimp, scallops, cod, crab cakes, and frog legs.
—Gege Reed, Louisville Courier Journal, 16 Feb. 2026
Miami Herald, 25 Oct. 2025
Nights are spent in a modest four-cabin converted crabbing boat called Ursus.
—Susan Portnoy, AFAR Media, 3 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crab
Noun
Sewage impacts could reach the Chesapeake Bay Naujoks stressed how important the Potomac is to the region, saying people depend on it for drinking water, tourism, trade and commercial fishing of species including blue catfish, rockfish, crabs and oysters.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 19 Feb. 2026
The fish may be ordered with French fries, onion rings and coleslaw on the side or, as a platter with a little bit of everything, including salmon, oysters, shrimp, scallops, cod, crab cakes, and frog legs.
—Gege Reed, Louisville Courier Journal, 16 Feb. 2026
Verb
Fewer people are working in the industry each year, said Duarte, and crabbing is a difficult industry with a short season, and costly upkeep for boats and traps.
—Miami Herald, 25 Oct. 2025
Nights are spent in a modest four-cabin converted crabbing boat called Ursus.
—Susan Portnoy, AFAR Media, 3 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crab
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crab
Noun
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And adults are happy to buy their favorite bears online, while kids can still experience the magic of building their own bear in store.—
Emma Hinchliffe,
Fortune,
23 Feb. 2026
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However, the bear case includes the possibility that Nvidia misses its earnings results, and that the stock market gets a DeepSeek Part Two moment.—
Sarah Min,
CNBC,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Some of them posted on social media to complain about the situation.—
Greg O'Keeffe,
New York Times,
23 Feb. 2026
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Members of Congress have complained that only about half of existing documents, many with redactions, have been made public even as Justice Department officials have said everything has been released, except for some files that can’t be made public until a judge gives the go-ahead.—
Michael R. Sisak,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Ukraine claims Russian drone attacks damaged the Druzhba pipeline; Hungary accuses it of deliberately withholding oil to pressure Central European nations.—
Justin Spike,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Feb. 2026
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Located in the deepest layer of skin, stem cells are tasked with creating fresh, healthy skin cells when those that are old or damaged are ready for retirement.—
Deanna Pai,
Vogue,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
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An energy vampire has bad body language, the complaining look on their face, the vocal complainer.—
Edgar Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 Feb. 2026
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If family needs cause drama, set kind boundaries and explain them to any complainers.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
2 Jan. 2026
Verb
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As the nation bonded as one over the past two weeks biting nails, screaming at wins, wincing at crashes and choking up at all the beautiful moments of Olympic competition, another group of athletes were – and still are – out honing their multi-level championship skills.—
Moira McCarthy,
Boston Herald,
25 Feb. 2026
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Nothing screams elegance quite like a french bob.—
Amanda Le,
InStyle,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Two more juvenile males have been arrested in connection with Sunday’s shooting at Maplewood Mall, making four total arrests in the shooting that injured a man.—
Kristi Miller,
Twin Cities,
25 Feb. 2026
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Oseguera was seriously injured in the shootout and died during air transfer to Mexico City.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But as with the dismantling of huge swaths of our research capacity, the original refusal to even consider this mRNA flu vaccine on what are obviously ideological grounds shows future potential for the FDA to affect a hell of a lot more people than just the cranks who agree with them.—
The Orlando Sentinel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
21 Feb. 2026
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Early locations had a giant clown head popping out of a square box on the roof, based on children’s jack-in-the-box toys, music boxes with cranks that, when turned, cause figures to pop out of their lids.—
Fielding Buck,
Oc Register,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Extra points are awarded here to families who avoid any whining about this.—
Moira McCarthy,
Boston Herald,
25 Feb. 2026
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Recognize signs of hypothermia The signs of hypothermia in pets are whining, shivering, anxiety, slowing down, or looking for a warm place to burrow.—
Alexa Herrera,
CBS News,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crab.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crab. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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