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hermit crab

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noun

any of numerous crabs, especially of the genera Pagurus and Eupagurus, that protect their soft uncovered abdomen by occupying the castoff shell of a univalve mollusk.

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Nearby words

Origin of hermit crab

First recorded in 1725–35

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hermit crab

Sometimes you will find that a sea-anemone has fastened itself to the edge of a shell in which a hermit-crab is living.
The Animal World, A Book of Natural History|Theodore Wood
First, there must have been the great change from an ordinary crab to a hermit-crab in all the respects previously pointed out.
Darwin, and After Darwin (Vol. 1 and 3, of 3)|George John Romanes
The Hermit-Crab belonged to a large family called the Crustaceans.
How Sammy Went to Coral-Land|Emily Paret Atwater
The consequence is that a hermit-crab is always very nervous indeed about his tail.
The Animal World, A Book of Natural History|Theodore Wood

In dealing with the Hermit-crab, in short, we are dealing with a case of physiological backsliding.
Natural Law in the Spiritual World|Henry Drummond

British Dictionary definitions for hermit crab

hermit crab

noun

any small soft-bodied decapod crustacean of the genus Pagurus and related genera, living in and carrying about the empty shells of whelks or similar molluscs

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