Illustration of fiddler crab
fiddler crab
noun
: any of several genera (such as Austruca, Leptuca, or Uca) of burrowing crabs in which the male has one claw that is greatly enlarged
Examples of fiddler crab in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In one of the first scenes, Roz learns to scrabble up a cliff by copying the movements of a fiddler crab (which is immediately swiped by a seagull).
—
Elvia Wilk, The Atlantic, 18 Dec. 2024
For example, helicopters regularly flying over the study site created vibrations so strong that researchers were unable to record the fiddler crabs’ drumming and had to pause their experiment.
—Kiley Price, Scientific American, 16 Apr. 2024
Multigenerational trips where families rent houses are popular here, too, and the biggest nightlife activity is stargazing under the unpolluted sky and looking for fiddler crabs on the beach.
—Trudy Haywood Saunders, Travel + Leisure, 26 Mar. 2024
The scuttle of fiddler crabs no longer accompanies walks to a nearby creek.
—James Pollard, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Aug. 2023
When approached by a potential mate, the male fiddler crab begins to wave its large claw up and down.
—Discover Magazine, 29 June 2010
See a small fiddler crab scuttling along a log; a skink's dark and half-closed eye; a tiny green buffalo treehopper clinging, upside-down, to a leaf; a Brazilian verbena flower so small that dozens could fit on a quarter.
—Star Tribune, 29 June 2021
Studies ranged from developing an algorithm to predict oil slicks when satellite images aren’t available, to a way of using fiddler crabs and snails to monitor the health of Louisiana salt marshes.
—Eric Niiler, Wired, 22 Apr. 2020
The elegant shorebird, with its curved needle beak, racing stripe above the eye, and the long legs of a wader, picked its way through Loagy Bay salt marsh in Wellfleet, plucking fiddler crabs from their finger-thick burrows in the mud.
—BostonGlobe.com, 26 Sep. 2019
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.
Elvia Wilk, The Atlantic, 18 Dec. 2024
For example, helicopters regularly flying over the study site created vibrations so strong that researchers were unable to record the fiddler crabs’ drumming and had to pause their experiment.
—Kiley Price, Scientific American, 16 Apr. 2024
Multigenerational trips where families rent houses are popular here, too, and the biggest nightlife activity is stargazing under the unpolluted sky and looking for fiddler crabs on the beach.
—Trudy Haywood Saunders, Travel + Leisure, 26 Mar. 2024
The scuttle of fiddler crabs no longer accompanies walks to a nearby creek.
—James Pollard, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Aug. 2023
When approached by a potential mate, the male fiddler crab begins to wave its large claw up and down.
—Discover Magazine, 29 June 2010
See a small fiddler crab scuttling along a log; a skink's dark and half-closed eye; a tiny green buffalo treehopper clinging, upside-down, to a leaf; a Brazilian verbena flower so small that dozens could fit on a quarter.
—Star Tribune, 29 June 2021
Studies ranged from developing an algorithm to predict oil slicks when satellite images aren’t available, to a way of using fiddler crabs and snails to monitor the health of Louisiana salt marshes.
—Eric Niiler, Wired, 22 Apr. 2020
The elegant shorebird, with its curved needle beak, racing stripe above the eye, and the long legs of a wader, picked its way through Loagy Bay salt marsh in Wellfleet, plucking fiddler crabs from their finger-thick burrows in the mud.
—BostonGlobe.com, 26 Sep. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Fiddler crab.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fiddler%20crab. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share