crabby

[ krab-ee ]
See synonyms for: crabbycrabbiercrabbiestcrabbiness on Thesaurus.com

adjective,crab·bi·er, crab·bi·est.
  1. Informal. grouchy; ill-natured; irritable; peevish.

Origin of crabby

1
First recorded in 1540–50; crab3 + -y1

Other words from crabby

  • crab·bi·ly, adverb
  • crab·bi·ness, noun

Words Nearby crabby

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use crabby in a sentence

  • It makes kids crabby and compromises their ability to learn.

  • Today, Nichol comes across as downright crabby when asked about the senator.

    Edwards’s Life in Exile | Michelle Cottle | June 20, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • There comes a time when a woman has to make up her mind to choose between being called a 'dear old soul' or a 'crabby old thing.'

  • Persius is crabby, because ancient, and his jerks (being particularly given to private customs of his time) dusky.

  • I entertained myself with keeping her to the subject, and that made her crabby.

    Rene Mauperin | Edmond de Goncourt and Jules de Goncourt
  • Time was getting short, and it was no use wasting time on my crabby landlady.

    My Friend Smith | Talbot Baines Reed
  • Accordingly the Hermit exerted himself to please, and it would really have taken more than three crabby boys to resist him.

    A Little Bush Maid | Mary Grant Bruce

British Dictionary definitions for crabby

crabby

/ (ˈkræbɪ) /


adjective-bier or -biest
  1. bad-tempered

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