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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.


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

"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

Etymology

Origin of crab apple

First recorded in 1705–15

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

"Joe, who works for me, came in and he had one little crab apple," Dame Judi told the BBC.

From BBC Dec. 27, 2024

The account shared a photo that some said was taken from a vantage point that neglected to show how the cherry blossom and crab apple trees were removed.

From Salon Aug. 9, 2021

She would settle for ripping the crab apple trees out of Jackie Kennedy’s rose garden.

From Slate Nov. 7, 2020

The other is the removal of the old crab apple trees.

From Washington Post Jul. 28, 2020

Tra-la-la-la-la, he said to himself, then quickly looked up again toward the crab apple tree.

From "Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Paterson

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