crab apple

noun

a small, sour, wild apple.

any of various small, tart, cultivated varieties of apple, used for making jelly and preserves.

any tree bearing such fruit.

Origin of crab apple

First recorded in 1705–15

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for crab apple

Historical Examples of crab apple

"Balm of marigolds, with the essential oil of crab-apple," said Martha.
The Daltons, Volume II (of II)
Charles James Lever
Under the crab-apple tree she drew him down upon a bench beside her.
Sally of Missouri
R. E. Young
He jumped in and was burnt, shrivelling up to the size of a crab-apple.
The Folk-Tales of the Magyars
Various
The Crabtree-worm can be taken by beating the branches of the crab-apple.
Every Boy's Book: A Complete Encyclopdia of Sports and Amusements
Various
But the prime-minister was as sour about it all as a crab-apple.
Twilight Land
Howard Pyle

British Dictionary definitions for crab apple

crab apple

noun

any of several rosaceous trees of the genus Malus that have white, pink, or red flowers and small sour apple-like fruits

the fruit of any of these trees, used to make jam

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012