spider crab

noun

any of various crabs of the family Majidae, having long, slender legs and a comparatively small, triangular body.

Origin of spider crab

First recorded in 1700–10

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

Examples from the Web for spider crab

Historical Examples of spider crab

This species of spider-crab is found from Greenland to New Jersey, in shallow as well as in deep water.
The Sea-beach at Ebb-tide
Augusta Foote Arnold
When a spider-crab grows too large for his clothes, he rips them at the back, and out he slides, a helpless soft mass.
Harper's Young People, August 17, 1880
Various

British Dictionary definitions for spider crab

spider crab

noun

any of various crabs of the genera Macropodia, Libinia, etc, having a small triangular body and very long legs

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