crabwise

[ krab-wahyz ]

/ ˈkræbˌwaɪz /

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See synonyms for crabwise on Thesaurus.com

adverb

sideways: patrons edging crabwise along the crowded row of theater seats.

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“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

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Origin of crabwise

First recorded in 1900–05; crab¹ + -wise

Words nearby crabwise

crabs, crab's eye, crab spider, crabstick, crab tree, crabwise, crabwood, CRAC, crack, cracka, crack a book

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use crabwise in a sentence

To his astonishment the stranger's mobile lips twisted in a snarl and he edged crabwise toward the bushes bordering the glen.
Ralestone Luck|Andre Norton
And so on, and all the time it is not wanting to go either to Thirlmere or to Penrith, but is sidling crabwise to Keswick.
Windfalls|(AKA Alpha of the Plough) Alfred George Gardiner
He was well up into the cleft, moving crabwise, unwilling to turn his back on the Throg.
Storm Over Warlock|Andre Norton
Able Jake, with the controlling influence of the jets cut, had yawed slightly and was now traveling crabwise.
Far from Home|J.A. Taylor

Mr. Wayne stiffened and wheeled; Mr. Briggs sidled hastily toward the doorway, crabwise; the poet choked back the word, Phup!
Iole|Robert W. Chambers

British Dictionary definitions for crabwise

crabwise

/ (ˈkræbˌwaɪz) /

adjective, adverb

(of motion) sideways; like a crab

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

crabwise

Origin of crabwise

Words nearby crabwise

Words related to crabwise

How to use crabwise in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for crabwise