as in bears
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 complains
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 damages
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
crabbed the blossoming romance by becoming moody and demanding
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crabs
Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 13 Feb. 2026
Either way, be sure to keep an eye out for the reserve’s native animal population, including fish, crabs, turtles, herons, flamingos, foxes, and dugongs, cousins to the North American manatee.
—Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Jan. 2026
Other exports, such as Canadian canola meal, lobsters, crabs, and peas will also not be subject to Chinese anti-discrimination tariffs until at least the end of 2026.
—Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 26 Jan. 2026
While pharmaceutical companies traditionally return the crabs to the water after extracting a portion of their blood for LAL tests, mortality rates after bleeding can exceed 15–30% in some estimates.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 7 Jan. 2026
This is just the latest in a string of shellfish heists bedeviling the Northeast where lobster, crabs, and oysters have gone missing in recent weeks.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 31 Dec. 2025
The divers found a swath of ocean populated by weird and wild creatures, from delicate corals and shimmering worms to spiky sea slugs and hairy crabs.
—Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 19 Dec. 2025
Once the crabs were out, the relief was immediate, but the unease lingered.
—Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 19 Dec. 2025
The soft-shell crabs and the sunsets alone make Tangier well worth a visit.
—Npr Staff, NPR, 18 Dec. 2025
Noun
Whale falls, which occur when a whale carcass sinks to the ocean floor, create temporary ecosystems that feed octopuses, sharks, crabs, microorganisms and more.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 13 Feb. 2026
Either way, be sure to keep an eye out for the reserve’s native animal population, including fish, crabs, turtles, herons, flamingos, foxes, and dugongs, cousins to the North American manatee.
—Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Jan. 2026
Other exports, such as Canadian canola meal, lobsters, crabs, and peas will also not be subject to Chinese anti-discrimination tariffs until at least the end of 2026.
—Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 26 Jan. 2026
While pharmaceutical companies traditionally return the crabs to the water after extracting a portion of their blood for LAL tests, mortality rates after bleeding can exceed 15–30% in some estimates.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 7 Jan. 2026
This is just the latest in a string of shellfish heists bedeviling the Northeast where lobster, crabs, and oysters have gone missing in recent weeks.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 31 Dec. 2025
The divers found a swath of ocean populated by weird and wild creatures, from delicate corals and shimmering worms to spiky sea slugs and hairy crabs.
—Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 19 Dec. 2025
Once the crabs were out, the relief was immediate, but the unease lingered.
—Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 19 Dec. 2025
The soft-shell crabs and the sunsets alone make Tangier well worth a visit.
—Npr Staff, NPR, 18 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crabs
Noun
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All but three of the bears were killed with a rifle.—
CBS Miami Team,
CBS News,
9 Feb. 2026
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Many of the big software platforms – Salesforce, now under a 15 P/E or ServiceNow, with a record-high 5% free-cash-flow yield – have a decent counter-argument to the bears.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Kane often complains on social media that state gaming laws were constructed with traditional sportsbooks in mind, a process that failed to conceptualize exchanges.—
Dan Bernstein,
Sportico.com,
4 Feb. 2026
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Other conversations sound quaint, like one where a bot complains about its human, while some are bizarre, such as one from a bot that claims to have a sister.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The meatpacking giant also charges workers when someone takes or damages their personal protective equipment and insists on a three-year agreement, the union said.—
Sam Tabachnik,
Denver Post,
5 Feb. 2026
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To explore that possibility, researchers at University College London and Queen Square Analytics set out to look beyond symptoms and clinical labels and focus instead on the biological signals of how MS damages the brain.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
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If family needs cause drama, set kind boundaries and explain them to any complainers.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
2 Jan. 2026
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The faculty experience has been that administrations often side with the complainers.—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
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On paper, Proctor screams Eagles.—
Zach Berman,
New York Times,
10 Feb. 2026
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Vonn lost control within moments of leaving the start house, clipping a gate with her right shoulder and pinwheeling down the slope before ending up awkwardly on her back, her skis crisscrossed below her and her screams ringing out soon after medical personnel arrived.—
ANDREW DAMPF,
Arkansas Online,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The picture exudes both grace and vulnerability, and hints at imperfection by way of a disconcerting, coral-like wrinkle that mars the foot’s heel.—
Chris Wiley,
New Yorker,
20 Dec. 2025
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Deadly holiday weekend mars broad crime drop The back-and-forth followed a Labor Day weekend of deadly violence in Chicago worse than in the previous two years, with seven people shot to death, according to preliminary Chicago Police Department reports.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Fennell begins on a black screen and the sound of creaks and moans.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
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Shannon moans right about the time Jenn walks out to see what the commotion is all about.—
Peter Larsen,
Oc Register,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Bystander videos, like the ones taken of Pretti, have played a key role for decades in informing the public when law enforcement kills or injures people.—
Ava Berger,
NPR,
28 Jan. 2026
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California law already criminalizes unsafe gun storage in certain situations, including when a child accesses a firearm and injures or kills someone.—
Grant Stringer,
Mercury News,
29 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Crabs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crabs. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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