crabstick

[ krab-stik ]

/ ˈkræbˌstɪk /

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noun

a stick, cane, or club made of wood, especially of the crab tree.

an ill-tempered, grouchy person; crosspatch.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of crabstick

First recorded in 1695–1705; crab² + stick¹

Words nearby crabstick

Crab Nebula, crab-plover, crabs, crab's eye, crab spider, crabstick, crab tree, crabwise, crabwood, CRAC, crack

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use crabstick in a sentence

The rider applied the crabstick more vigorously than before.
Self-control|Mary Brunton
What an old crabstick like me can see in you is just the very last thing that a dainty young girl wants.
Love and Intrigue|Friedrich Schiller
Crabstick would go down and fetch for her a cup of tea,—and just a morsel of something to eat.
The Eustace Diamonds|Anthony Trollope
Lizzie jumped out of bed, and admitted her friend, admitting also Patience Crabstick.
The Eustace Diamonds|Anthony Trollope

All which Crabstick knew, and would often declare her missus to be "of all missuses the most slyest and least come-at-able."
The Eustace Diamonds|Anthony Trollope

British Dictionary definitions for crabstick

crabstick

/ (ˈkræbˌstɪk) /

noun

a stick, cane, or cudgel made of crab-apple wood

informal a bad-tempered person

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