crab

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
crab1

▶noun

• 1 a crustacean, found chiefly on seashores, with a broad carapace, stalked eyes, and five pairs of legs, the first of which are modified as pincers. [Order Decapoda: many species.]

• 2 (crabs) informal an infestation of crab lice.

• 3 a machine with pincer-like arms for picking up heavy weights.

▶verb

• 1 move sideways or obliquely.

• 2 fish for crabs.

– phrases
catch a crab Rowing make a faulty stroke.

– derivatives
crabber noun,
crablike adjective & adverb.

– origin OE crabba, of Gmc origin.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
crab2

▶verb (crabs, crabbing, crabbed) informal grumble.

– origin C16 (referring to hawks, meaning ‘claw or fight each other’): from Low Ger. krabben; rel. to crab1.