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crabs

/kɹæbz/
Dictionary

noun

  • A crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, having five pairs of legs, the foremost of which are in the form of claws, and a carapace.
  • The meat of this crustacean, served as food; crabmeat
  • A bad-tempered person.
  • (in plural crabs) An infestation of pubic lice (Pthirus pubis).

    "Although crabs themselves are an easily treated inconvenience, the patient and his partner(s) clearly run major STD risks."

  • A playing card with the rank of three.
  • A position in rowing where the oar is pushed under the rigger by the force of the water.
  • A defect in an outwardly normal object that may render it inconvenient and troublesome to use.
  • An unsold book that is returned to the publisher.

verb

  • To fish for crabs.
  • To ruin.
  • To complain.
  • To drift or move sideways or to leeward (by analogy with the movement of a crab).
  • To navigate (an aircraft, e.g. a glider) sideways against an air current in order to maintain a straight-line course.
  • To move (a camera) sideways.
  • (World War I), to fly slightly off the straight-line course towards an enemy aircraft, as the machine guns on early aircraft did not allow firing through the propeller disk.
  • To back out of something.

noun

  • The crab apple or wild apple.
  • The tree bearing crab apples, which has a dogbane-like bitter bark with medical use.
  • A cudgel made of the wood of the crab tree; a crabstick.
  • A movable winch or windlass with powerful gearing, used with derricks, etc.
  • A form of windlass, or geared capstan, for hauling ships into dock, etc.
  • A machine used in ropewalks to stretch the yarn.
  • A claw for anchoring a portable machine.

verb

  • (obsolete) To irritate, make surly or sour
  • To be ill-tempered; to complain or find fault.
  • (British dialect) To cudgel or beat, as with a crabstick

noun

  • The tree species Carapa guianensis, native to South America.

noun

  • Short for carabiner.

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