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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crab
Akash Kapur, Travel + Leisure, 7 Apr. 2026
The menu has a Scandi feel, with a trolley of open sandwiches served at lunchtime and a la carte dishes including gravadlax with pickled cucumber salad, Swedish west coast salad with prawns, mussels and crab, and lemon and blueberry custard tart.
—Siobhan Grogan, TheWeek, 7 Apr. 2026
Tara Duggan, San Francisco Chronicle, 19 Dec. 2025
Go crabbing, clamming, hiking, or mushroom foraging with a guide, head out for a fat-tire bike ride, or enjoy a beach bonfire, already set up for you, for the coziest way to end a day on the coast.
—Molly Allen, Travel + Leisure, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crab
Noun
Our first stop was the hotel’s dining room, a vaulted space with floor-to-ceiling views that serves meticulously plated dishes made mostly from regional produce (including the island’s distinctive wild juniper berries) and seasonal catches such as cod, crab, and shrimp.
—Akash Kapur, Travel + Leisure, 7 Apr. 2026
The menu has a Scandi feel, with a trolley of open sandwiches served at lunchtime and a la carte dishes including gravadlax with pickled cucumber salad, Swedish west coast salad with prawns, mussels and crab, and lemon and blueberry custard tart.
—Siobhan Grogan, TheWeek, 7 Apr. 2026
Verb
Rules designed to protect endangered humpback whales and Pacific leatherback sea turtles from getting entangled in crabbing gear have pushed back the start of the commercial season, formerly Nov. 15, in each of the past seven years.
—Tara Duggan, San Francisco Chronicle, 19 Dec. 2025
Go crabbing, clamming, hiking, or mushroom foraging with a guide, head out for a fat-tire bike ride, or enjoy a beach bonfire, already set up for you, for the coziest way to end a day on the coast.
—Molly Allen, Travel + Leisure, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crab
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crab
Noun
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The bears will go back to citing narrow leadership as a reason to distrust the bullish trend.—
Todd Gordon,
CNBC,
14 Apr. 2026
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There are 10 others — a bear, dragon, fox, knight, lion, marauder, mustang, red panda, watchman and wolf — that will be narrowed to a final three via a public voting process that ends Friday.—
Mike Danahey,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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For years, critics of San Diego’s and California’s approaches have complained that millions and billions, respectively, have been spent to reduce homelessness, yet things just kept getting worse.—
Michael Smolens,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Apr. 2026
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According to state records, the Board of Pharmacy had referred the matter to the Board of Medicine after a patient of Hartsuch’s complained that his pharmacist refused to fill the physician’s prescription for ivermectin in the treatment of COVID-19.—
Clark Kauffman,
Iowa Capital Dispatch,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
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As the plane ascended, someone threw a grenade at it, damaging a wing.—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
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One of the vehicles apparently also slammed into the rear of a parked silver BMW, damaging it, as well.—
Nicholas Williams,
New York Daily News,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The pervasive popularity of the show and its creator will be the reason the complainers have no voice.—
Rich Heldenfels,
Boston Herald,
22 Mar. 2026
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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
Verb
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Her screaming grounder to short caromed into left field and sent home Albon, who had singled and stole second.—
Tony Baranek,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Apr. 2026
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Sandra Bullock asked a screaming crowd at CinemaCon on Tuesday, staring at Nicole Kidman.—
Matt Donnelly,
Variety,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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When a Lake Dallas home exploded last month, critically injuring a woman inside, investigators said natural gas from a leaking pipe fueled the blast.—
Lexi Salazar,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
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There have also been calls when people have been injured from an accident with a horse and the animal is not secured.—
Karen Billing,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Most of these use a hand crank to churn, which can be a novelty at first, but a drag as the process wears on.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Apr. 2026
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Phones would already be ringing in the concrete innards of One Police Plaza, and every crank in the New York City area would be busy pouring out their darkest fantasies.—
Danielle Parker,
CBS News,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Zendaya's Rue thrives in her own weird little story, but Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) lacks a personality other than whining, Nate (Elordi) lacks a personality other than anger, and hyper-sexualized Maddie (Alexa Demie) lacks a personality other than blind ambition.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
9 Apr. 2026
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Get someone who spends more time trying to master the new model than whining about it.—
Stewart Mandel,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crab.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crab. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
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