crabs

Noun

crab (countable and uncountable, plural crabs)

1. Any crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, having five pairs of legs, the foremost of which are in the form of claws, and a carapace.
2. (uncountable) The meat of this crustacean, served as food; crabmeat.
   • But Richmond[…]appeared to lose himself in his own reflections. Some pickled crab, which he had not touched, had been removed with a damson pie; and his sister saw[…]that he had eaten no more than a spoonful of that either.1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax
3. Any of various crustacean in the infraorder Anomura, usually excluding squat lobsters.
   • Despite its name, the hermit crab is not a true crab!
4. A horseshoe crab.
5. A bad-tempered person.
   • She so obviously enjoyed every second of the concert that only the most stubborn crab could not have been warmed by her charm.1983 April 30, Sue Hyde, “Expanding Worldviews”, in Gay Community News, page 12
6. (informal, 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.

See all 38 meanings of crab