Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

king crab

noun
  1. horseshoe crab.
  2. Also called Alaskan king crab, Alaska crab. a large, edible crab, Paralithodes camtschatica, of cold North Pacific waters, especially abundant along the coasts of Alaska and Japan.
Show More

Origin of king crab

First recorded in 1690–1700
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for king crab

Historical Examples

  • Of all these the only member alive at the present time is Limulus, or the King-Crab.

    The Origin of Vertebrates

    Walter Holbrook Gaskell

  • In the illustration is shown the egg of the king-crab one-third larger than life.

  • The Tortoise replied, "Your slave donned it forasmuch as your slave saw the King-crab trailing his three-edged pike."

  • The compound eye of the king-crab (Limulus) is the only recognized instance of ommatidia in their simplest state.

  • A name of the king-crab (Limulus polyphemus), from its supposed resemblance to that instrument.

    The Sailor's Word-Book

    William Henry Smyth

British Dictionary definitions for king crab

king crab

noun
  1. another name for the horseshoe crab
Show More
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