crab apple

American  

noun

1. a small, sour, wild apple.

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

3. any tree bearing such fruit.

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crab apple British  

noun

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

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

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Etymology

Origin of crab apple

First recorded in 1705–15

Example Sentences

So I chose a crab apple instead, a reminder of my earliest tree memory — indeed my earliest memory, period — which was of a crab apple with pink blossoms.

From Washington Post

Soon after, his class planted a crab apple tree outside the school.

From New York Times

He pointed out crab apple blossoms, which made an appearance in dessert.

From Washington Post

Firm fruit that look like yellow crab apples rained down.

From Washington Post

Garlic mustard and chickweed at the start of spring, elderflower and nettle in the season; serviceberries, mulberries and mugwort in summer; and pawpaws, persimmons and crab apples in fall.

From Washington Post