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yabby

American  
[yab-ee] / ˈyæb i /

noun

  1. a small Australian crayfish, of the genus Cherax, inhabiting streams and water holes.

yabby British  
/ ˈjæbɪ /

noun

  1. a small freshwater crayfish of the genus Cherax , esp C. destructor

  2. Also called: nipper.  a marine prawn used as bait

"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

verb

  1. (intr) to go out to catch yabbies

"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

Etymology

Origin of yabby

First recorded in 1890–95; from Wergaia (an Australian Aboriginal language spoken around Wimmera, Victoria) yabij

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The second, which came out in 2016, held 16,000, including words borrowed from more than 100 Indigenous Australian languages — billabong, kangaroo and yabby, to name a few.

From New York Times • Jun. 19, 2022

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.