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
Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2025
The marinated raw crab is bathed in fish sauce, garlic, chilis, cilantro, and lime juice and then chilled.
—Lisa Wong MacAbasco, Vogue, 15 Apr. 2025
Linda Zavoral, The Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2024
The 21-foot white Bayliner reportedly had six occupants — three adults and three juveniles — and had been crabbing off of Bodega.
—John Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 3 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for crab
Noun
Their namesake bills can probe into the ground to snatch deep-burrowing creatures, whether crabs, shrimp or worms and other invertebrates.
—Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2025
The marinated raw crab is bathed in fish sauce, garlic, chilis, cilantro, and lime juice and then chilled.
—Lisa Wong MacAbasco, Vogue, 15 Apr. 2025
Verb
The 2020 crabbing season was officially set to begin Dec. 23, but price negotiations between crab fleets and seafood processors delayed the start until early January 2021.
—Linda Zavoral, The Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2024
The 21-foot white Bayliner reportedly had six occupants — three adults and three juveniles — and had been crabbing off of Bodega.
—John Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 3 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for crab
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crab
Noun
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The total range is 424 bears at the low end of the estimate and 1,713 at the high end.—
Andrew McKean,
Outdoor Life,
16 Apr. 2025
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In the Yellowstone region, the bear’s numbers have now risen to more than 700, surpassing recovery goals set by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.—
Sharon Udasin,
The Hill,
16 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Pundits complained last year’s Cannes was a light affair, but that had to do with the bottleneck created by the strikes, for one.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
10 Apr. 2025
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While speaking at a dinner hosted by the National Republican Congressional Committee on Tuesday, Trump complained over how the U.S. doesn’t manufacturer its own pharmaceuticals stating that tariffs on these products would be forthcoming.—
Joseph Choi,
The Hill,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Their son and daughter-in-law, Cameron Bott, 35, and his wife, Diana, 36, whose nearby home was damaged in the tornado, initiated a discussion about starting a GoFundMe to offset potential insurance shortfalls in rebuilding the gas station.—
Tammy Ljungblad,
Kansas City Star,
9 Apr. 2025
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Previously, a fire damaged the building on Oct. 26.—
City News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Polley’s Polley ends up (understandably) screaming in frustration when Matt pratfalls his way into the shot, a tantrum the indie director could hardly relate to as someone known for facilitating calm, peaceful productions on intimate character studies.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
9 Apr. 2025
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The mutual devotion – both from the screaming fans and Parton herself – was palpable.—
Rebecca Deurlein,
Forbes.com,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The spill killed 11 people and injured 17 others as 210 million gallons of crude oil were released into the Gulf of Mexico (recently renamed by the U.S. government as Gulf of America) for a total of 87 days.—
Terry Collins,
USA Today,
20 Apr. 2025
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Memorial at Florida State University after a fatal shooting killed two people and injured several others.—
Kati Weis,
CBS News,
20 Apr. 2025
Noun
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For example, over half of all bicycle crank sets, derailleurs and brake parts came from Taiwan.—
Jay L. Zagorsky,
The Conversation,
4 Apr. 2025
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Using those rules, the AI cranks through sentences and takes them apart, piece by piece.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
2 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The one from Rucker felt like a routine stinger, nothing to whine about.—
Tyler Kepner,
New York Times,
27 Mar. 2025
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One of her horses bucked and whined as she was loaded onto a trailer Tuesday morning, not wanting to get packed as cargo in a shipping container.—
Luis Melecio-Zambrano,
Mercury News,
25 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The dashboard was part of an extended pressure campaign from Buttigieg, who, during his tenure in the Biden administration, publicly challenged the major carriers to improve service and transparency—particularly after a summer marred by cancellations and flight delays.—
Bailey Berg,
AFAR Media,
8 Apr. 2025
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What to Know Artists like Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift have previously clashed with ticketing platforms, with Swift's 2022 tour marred by widespread ticket access issues.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Crab.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crab. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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