land crab

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noun

any of several crabs, especially of the family Gecarcinidae, that live chiefly upon land, returning to the sea to breed.

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Origin of land crab

First recorded in 1630–40

Words nearby land crab

land bank, landboard, land breeze, land bridge, land contract, land crab, Land Dayak, Landdrost, landed, landed immigrant, Landé factor

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

How to use land crab in a sentence

Shuddering with horror, he shook it violently from him, and a large land-crab fell with a crash on the stones.
A Desperate Voyage|Edward Frederick Knight
Even that poor groping old land-crab, with his skull full of pulp, had pride.
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc|Mark Twain
A crawfish or "land crab" will serve as a typical medium for describing the method of preparing specimens of this nature.
Taxidermy|Leon Luther Pray
Hence, in the season, land-crab parties start from every village for the spots where they are to be found.
Lost in the Jungle|Paul Du Chaillu

I told them it was a land-crab--which we might call the cocoa-nut crab, as we owed such a store to it.
The Swiss Family Robinson; or Adventures in a Desert Island|Johann David Wyss

British Dictionary definitions for land crab

land crab

noun

any of various crabs, esp of the tropical family Gecarcinidae, that are adapted to a partly terrestrial life

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