crabwise

[ krab-wahyz ]
/ ˈkræbˌwaɪz /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR crabwise ON THESAURUS.COM

adverb

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

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?
Question 1 of 10
decorum
the act of or need for making up one's mind.
dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.
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Origin of crabwise

First recorded in 1900–05; crab1 + -wise

Words nearby crabwise

crabby, crabeater, crabmeat, crabs, crabstick, crabwise, crabwood, crac, crack, crack a book, crack a bottle
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to crabwise

oblique, side, obliquely, sidelong, edgeways, flanking, sideward, skirting, alongside, aside, athwart, indirectly, laterally, slanting, sloping, aslant, aslope, broadside, slantwise

Example sentences from the Web for crabwise

  • "Oh—well—gee—of course—" sighed Graff, as he went out, crabwise.

    Babbitt|Sinclair Lewis

  • Mr. Wayne stiffened and wheeled; Mr. Briggs sidled hastily toward the doorway, crabwise; the poet choked back the word, Phup!

    Iole|Robert W. Chambers

  • Instead, he sidled, crabwise, into the middle of the street.

    H. R.|Edwin Lefevre

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