1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

crab 1 of 2

noun

Definition of crabnext
as in bear
an irritable and complaining person you're always such a crab in the morning!

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

crab

2 of 2

verb

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of crab
Noun
Fresh lump crab meat, three cheeses, and a few tangy and spicy ingredients meld into one dreamy dip. — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 19 Sep. 2026 Reach uses a crab trap to disarm a G-man brandishing an On the Waterfront–style hook. — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
Verb
On a breezy pier overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, a growing group of women are discovering that the rewards of crabbing extend far beyond what ends up in a bucket. — Loureen Ayyoub, CBS News, 22 June 2026 As the crabbing season gains momentum, Maryland watermen are grappling with a surge in operational expenses, led by high fuel prices that are forcing them to pass rising costs on to consumers. — Tessa Bentulan, Baltimore Sun, 9 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for crab
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crab
  1. bear
  2. complain
  3. damage
  4. complainer
  5. scream
  6. injure
  7. crank
  8. whine
Noun
  • Her face is distinguished from other bears by the inverted V or chevron pattern of fur on her forehead.
    — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Some cases over the last month include a bear that entered an arcade in Fraser Valley, a bear that went romping through an Aspen restaurant, and attacks at a Rio Grande National Forest Park campground and inside a condo in Durango.
    — Christa Swanson, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of bear
Verb
  • Many advocates and lawmakers have complained that the system updates too slowly and contains too much inaccurate or missing information, allowing ICE to shield the locations of detainees for days or weeks.
    — Ryan J. Foley, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2026
  • China is demanding the US ease export bans on high-tech goods, like chipmaking gear; the US bitterly complains about Chinese overproduction and transhipment.
    — Andy Browne, semafor.com, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of complain
Verb
  • The attack on Kyiv damaged more than 50 civilian sites, including apartment blocks, post offices, a maternity hospital and a textile plant, Vyhivskyi, the interior minister, said.
    — HANNA ARHIROVA, Arkansas Online, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Tests also found that the electrical pulses used for communication did not damage tissue samples.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of damage
Noun
  • My ‘Deborah Vance Show senior writer’ persona was kind of a rude complainer with an incipient alcohol problem.
    — Merrill Markoe, Deadline, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Are they deluded into thinking that the complainers are just a squeaky wheel minority and the majority of fans are happy with it?
    — Jeremy Rutherford, New York Times, 13 July 2026
Definition of complainer
Verb
  • The payoff to that trick leaves Kumail and Gianmarco screaming, first in thrilled disbelief at what Jake pulls off, then in frustration at Maria’s vote.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Instead, Williams screamed out in pain and could not carry himself off the field.
    — Marissa Sulek, CBS News, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of scream
Verb
  • Saudi officials said debris from a Houthi drone also killed one civilian and injured others.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Having not been injured in the collision, the truck driver remained on the scene in the wake of the crash, police said.
    — Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of injure
Noun
  • The engine features a flat-plane crank that Mercedes-Benz AMG said reduces rotating mass and improves revving characteristics.
    — Joel Feder, The Drive, 10 Sep. 2026
  • In the ever more precarious world of academia, the neck of the principled luddite crank might be particularly attractive when institutions swing the axe in the next round of layoffs.
    — Dónal Gill, The Dial, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of crank
Verb
  • Andrew whines about the prattling women who’ve infiltrated his home, firmly establishing that all men are, in fact, terrible.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Still, to Sandy, Joe’s whining is no reason to write him off altogether.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of whine

Browse Nearby Words

cozy
crab
crabbed
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Crab.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crab. Accessed 27 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on crab

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about crab

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 25
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All