How do you use the word "crab" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "crab": You cannot make a crab walk straight. I regard crab as a great delicacy.

Crab Meaning

/kɹæb/

Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

nounAny crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, having five pairs of legs, the foremost of which are in the form of claws, and a carapace.

nounThe meat of this crustacean, served as food; crabmeat.

Sentence Examples

You cannot make a crab walk straight.

I regard crab as a great delicacy.

Snippy had the bluest blood of all his crab brethren.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

cancer

Antonyms:

None

CEFR Practice Quiz

The orange ____ scuttled sideways across the sandy beach at low tide.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

You cannot make a ____ walk straight.

Word Origin & History

From Middle English crabbe, from Old English crabba (“crab; crayfish; cancer”), from Proto-West Germanic *krabbō, from Proto-Germanic *krabbô, from *krabbōną (“to scratch”), from Proto-Indo-European *grobʰeh₂yéti (“to scratch”), a metathesised o-grade of *gerbʰ- (“to carve, scratch”). More at carve. Cognates See also Dutch krab, Low German Krabb, Danish krabbe, Swedish krabba. Further cognates with frequentative-infix are Saterland Frisian krabbelje (“to creep, crawl”), Dutch krabbelen (“to scratch”) and German krabbeln (“to crawl”). Possibly related to English creep and Swedish krypa (“to creep, crawl”) etc. Other origins have also been suggested, see Ancient Greek κάραβος (kárabos) (regarding the possibility of a substrate origin) and Persian خرچنگ (regarding possible ideophonic origin); compare also Old Armenian քարբ (kʻarb), German Krebs.

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"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:

"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:

"-- "I suppose you wouldn't like to do a locum for a month on the South coast? Three guineas a week with board and lodging." -- "I wouldn't mind," said Philip. -- "It's at Farnley, in Dorsetshire. Doctor South. You'd have to go down at once; his assistant has developed mumps. I believe it's a very pleasant place." There was something in the secretary's manner that puzzled Philip. It was a little doubtful. -- "What's the crab in it?" he asked." — 1915, W.S. Maugham, “chapter 116”, in Of Human Bondage:

"Arrested by the low price of another “desirable residence”, I asked “What's the crab?” The agent assured me that there was no crab. I fell in love with this house at sight. Happily, I discovered that it was reputed to be haunted." — 1940, Horace Annesley Vachell, Little Tyrannies:

"[…] the unsold copies may be returned to the original publisher , at a period fixed upon between Christmas and Easter; these returned copies are technically called krebse or crabs, probably, from their walking backwards. […] A says to B, "I have had eight thousand dollars' worth of your publications, three thousand were crabs, that makes five thousand."" — 1844, Albert Henry Payne, Payne's universum, or pictorial world, page 99:

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