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crabby

[ krab-ee ]
/ ˈkræb i /
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adjective, crab·bi·er, crab·bi·est.

Informal. grouchy; ill-natured; irritable; peevish.

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RELATED WORDS

acid, acrid, acrimonious, awkward, bad-tempered, blunt, brusque, captious, choleric, churlish, cranky, cross, crotchety, crusty, cynical, difficult, dour, fretful, gloomy, glum

Nearby words

  1. crabbe, george,
  2. crabbed,
  3. crabbedly,
  4. crabber,
  5. crabbing,
  6. crabeater,
  7. crabgrass,
  8. crabmeat,
  9. crabs,
  10. crabstick

Origin of crabby

First recorded in 1540–50; crab3 + -y1
Related formscrab·bi·ly, adverbcrab·bi·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for crabby

British Dictionary definitions for crabby

crabby

/ (ˈkræbɪ) /

adjective -bier or -biest

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
Word Origin and History for crabby

crabby

adj.

1520s, in now-obsolete sense "crooked, gnarled, rough," from extended sense of crab (n.1) + -y (2). Meaning "disagreeable, sour, peevish" is attested from 1776, American English. Both senses were found earlier in crabbed.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper