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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of crab
Farideh Sadeghin, Saveur, 2 Apr. 2026
Just like the arms used for tracking down a crab, the hectocotylus expresses a high concentration of chemotactile receptors, alongside mechanoreceptors.
—Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 2 Apr. 2026
Tara Duggan, San Francisco Chronicle, 19 Dec. 2025
Go crabbing, clamming, hiking, or mushroom foraging with a guide, head out for a fat-tire bike ride, or enjoy a beach bonfire, already set up for you, for the coziest way to end a day on the coast.
—Molly Allen, Travel + Leisure, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crab
Noun
If the resulting soup is too thick, adjust with more crab stock as needed.
—Farideh Sadeghin, Saveur, 2 Apr. 2026
Just like the arms used for tracking down a crab, the hectocotylus expresses a high concentration of chemotactile receptors, alongside mechanoreceptors.
—Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 2 Apr. 2026
Verb
Rules designed to protect endangered humpback whales and Pacific leatherback sea turtles from getting entangled in crabbing gear have pushed back the start of the commercial season, formerly Nov. 15, in each of the past seven years.
—Tara Duggan, San Francisco Chronicle, 19 Dec. 2025
Go crabbing, clamming, hiking, or mushroom foraging with a guide, head out for a fat-tire bike ride, or enjoy a beach bonfire, already set up for you, for the coziest way to end a day on the coast.
—Molly Allen, Travel + Leisure, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crab
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crab
Noun
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YumEarth makes organic lollipops, gummy bears and fruit snacks with no artificial dyes.—
Allison Palmer,
Kansas City Star,
30 Mar. 2026
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The walls disappeared into a forest of trees, where live monkeys and at least one bear lurked behind the trunks.—
Serena Turner,
Vanity Fair,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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An employee reached out to Summers and Taylor to complain.—
Ronan Farrow,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
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Coaches Dawn Staley of South Carolina and Geno Auriemma of UConn had a heated courtside exchange afterward as Auriemma, in character, complained about the officiating and proved an ungracious loser, but at least apologized a day later.—
Greg Cote
April 5,
Miami Herald,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Red Cross said the crash damaged the building and forced three families — a total of 10 people — from their homes.—
Eva Andersen,
CBS News,
6 Apr. 2026
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Reports and satellite images later showed large parts of the city heavily damaged or reduced to rubble.—
Maliha Rahman,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The pervasive popularity of the show and its creator will be the reason the complainers have no voice.—
Rich Heldenfels,
Boston Herald,
22 Mar. 2026
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An energy vampire has bad body language, the complaining look on their face, the vocal complainer.—
Edgar Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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For families This hotel doesn’t scream family-friendly and there’s no kids’ menu in the restaurants.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
1 Apr. 2026
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Martens plans to scream, if not louder, than with more originality.—
Rachel Tashjian,
CNN Money,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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That night, Kane was injured, and Carsley tried to pick the boldest, most talented team possible, with Jude Bellingham nominally up front, and Foden, Palmer, Gordon and Bukayo Saka in, too.—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
New York Times,
1 Apr. 2026
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The conditions for the three people injured in the shooting wasn't immediately available.—
Siafa Lewis,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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These ideas have thrived through generations of cranks and propagandists and are now omnipresent.—
Mike Rothschild,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
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The upper shell lifted with a manual hydraulics crank to full-height camping form.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Or get ready for a lot of groaning and whining.—
Keely Doll,
Louisville Courier Journal,
25 Mar. 2026
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With LeBron James buying into a supporting actor role, the Lakers are a legitimate threat because Doncic is more focused on scoring buckets than whining to officials.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crab.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crab. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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