adj sour; rough; austere.
2. crab ·vt to beat with a crabstick.
3. crab ·noun the zodiacal constellation cancer.
4. crab ·adj a claw for anchoring a portable machine.
5. crab ·adj a crab apple;
so named from its harsh taste.
6. crab ·vi to drift sidewise or to leeward, as a vessel.
7. crab ·adj a machine used in ropewalks to stretch the yarn.
8. crab ·adj a cudgel made of the wood of the crab tree; a crabstick.
9. crab ·vt to make sour or morose; to embitter.
10. crab ·adj a form of windlass, or geared capstan, for hauling ships into dock, ·etc.
11. crab ·adj a movable winch or windlass with powerful gearing, used with derricks, ·etc.
12. crab ·noun one of the brachyuran crustacea. they are mostly marine, and usually have a broad, short body, covered with a strong shell or carapace. the abdomen is small and curled up beneath the body.