catch a crab


verb (used with object), caught, catching.
to seize or capture, especially after pursuit: to catch a criminal; to catch a runaway horse.
to trap or ensnare: to catch a fish.
to come upon suddenly; surprise or detect, as in some action: I caught him stealing the pumpkin.
to lay hold of; grasp; clasp: He caught her arm.
to see or attend: to catch a show.
to strike; hit: The blow caught him on the head.
to deceive: No one was caught by his sugary words.
to attract the attention of; captivate; charm: She was caught by his smile and good nature.
to grasp with the intellect; comprehend: She failed to catch his meaning.
to hear clearly: We caught snatches of their conversation.
to apprehend and record; capture: The painting caught her expression perfectly.
South Midland and Southern U.S. to assist at the birth of: The town doctor caught more than four hundred children before he retired.
verb (used without object), caught, catching.
to take hold: The door lock doesn't catch.
Baseball. to play the position of catcher: He catches for the Yankees.
to become lighted; take fire; ignite: The kindling caught instantly.
the act of catching.
a slight, momentary break or crack in the voice.
a person or thing worth getting, especially a person regarded as a desirable matrimonial prospect: My mother thinks Pat would be quite a catch.
a fragment: catches of a song.
Agriculture. the establishment of a crop from seed: a catch of clover.
catchy ( def 3 ).
Verb phrases
catch at, to grasp at eagerly; accept readily: He caught at the chance to get free tickets.
catch on,
to grasp mentally; understand: You'd think he'd catch on that he's boring us.
New England. (in cooking) to scorch or burn slightly; sear: A pot roast is better if allowed to catch on.
catch up,
to bring or get up to date (often followed by on or with ): to catch up on one's reading.
to come up to or overtake (something or someone) (usually followed by with ): to catch up with the leader in a race.
to point out to (a person) minor errors, untruths, etc. (usually followed by on ): We caught the teacher up on a number of factual details.
catch it, Informal. to receive a reprimand or punishment: He'll catch it from his mother for tearing his good trousers again.


catchable, adjective
uncatchable, adjective


1, 7, 28. release. Unabridged


1 [krab]
any decapod crustacean of the suborder Brachyura, having the eyes on short stalks and a short, broad, more or less flattened body, the abdomen being small and folded under the thorax.
any of various other crustaceans, as the hermit crab, or other animals, as the horseshoe crab, resembling the true crabs.
(initial capital letter) Astronomy, Astrology. the zodiacal constellation or sign Cancer.
(initial capital letter) Astronomy. the Crab Nebula.
any of various mechanical contrivances for hoisting or pulling.
Aeronautics. the maneuver of crabbing.
Informal. the crab louse. See under louse ( def 1 ).
(used with a singular verb) a losing throw, as two aces, in the game of hazard.
verb (used without object), crabbed, crabbing.
to catch or attempt to catch crabs.
to move sideways, diagonally, or obliquely, especially with short, abrupt bursts of speed; scuttle.
Aeronautics. (of an aircraft) to head partly into the wind to compensate for drift.
Nautical. to drift or advance with some movement sideways, especially when under tow.
verb (used with object), crabbed, crabbing.
to move (a vehicle or object) sideways, diagonally, or obliquely, especially with short, abrupt movements.
Aeronautics. to head (an aircraft) partly into the wind to compensate for drift.
catch a crab, to make a faulty stroke in rowing, so that the oar strikes the water forcibly on the backstroke.

before 1000; Middle English crabbe, Old English crabba; cognate with Dutch krab, Old Norse krabbi; akin to German Krebs

crablike, adjective Unabridged
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World English Dictionary
catch (kætʃ)
vb (often foll by at) , catches, catching, caught
1.  (tr) to take hold of so as to retain or restrain: he caught the ball
2.  (tr) to take, seize, or capture, esp after pursuit
3.  (tr) to ensnare or deceive, as by trickery
4.  (tr) to surprise or detect in an act: he caught the dog rifling the larder
5.  (tr) to reach with a blow: the stone caught him on the side of the head
6.  (tr) to overtake or reach in time to board: if we hurry we should catch the next bus
7.  (tr) to see or hear; attend: I didn't catch the Ibsen play
8.  (tr) to be infected with: to catch a cold
9.  to hook or entangle or become hooked or entangled: her dress caught on a nail
11.  (tr) to attract or arrest: she tried to catch his eye
12.  (tr) to comprehend: I didn't catch his meaning
13.  (tr) to hear accurately: I didn't catch what you said
14.  (tr) to captivate or charm
15.  (tr) to perceive and reproduce accurately: the painter managed to catch his model's beauty
16.  (tr) to hold back or restrain: he caught his breath in surprise
17.  (intr) to become alight: the fire won't catch
18.  (tr) cricket to dismiss (a batsman) by intercepting and holding a ball struck by him before it touches the ground
19.  a.  to grasp or attempt to grasp
 b.  to take advantage (of), esp eagerly: he caught at the chance
20.  informal (intr; used passively) to make pregnant
21.  informal catch it to be scolded or reprimanded
22.  slang catch oneself on to realize that one's actions are mistaken
23.  the act of catching or grasping
24.  a device that catches and fastens, such as a latch
25.  anything that is caught, esp something worth catching
26.  the amount or number caught
27.  informal a person regarded as an eligible matrimonial prospect
28.  a check or break in the voice
29.  a break in a mechanism
30.  informal
 a.  a concealed, unexpected, or unforeseen drawback or handicap
 b.  (as modifier): a catch question
31.  a game in which a ball is thrown from one player to another
32.  cricket the catching of a ball struck by a batsman before it touches the ground, resulting in him being out
33.  music round See canon a type of round popular in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, having a humorous text that is often indecent or bawdy and hard to articulate

crab1 (kræb)
1.  fiddler crab soft-shell crab pea crab See also oyster crab any chiefly marine decapod crustacean of the genus Cancer and related genera (section Brachyura), having a broad flattened carapace covering the cephalothorax, beneath which is folded the abdomen. The first pair of limbs are modified as pincersRelated: cancroid
2.  any of various similar or related arthropods, such as the hermit crab and horseshoe crab
3.  short for crab louse
4.  a manoeuvre in which an aircraft flies slightly into the crosswind to compensate for drift
5.  a mechanical lifting device, esp the travelling hoist of a gantry crane
6.  wrestling See Boston crab
7.  rowing catch a crab to make a stroke in which the oar either misses the water or digs too deeply, causing the rower to fall backwards
vb , crabs, crabbing, crabbed
8.  (intr) to hunt or catch crabs
9.  (tr) to fly (an aircraft) slightly into a crosswind to compensate for drift
10.  (intr) nautical to move forwards with a slight sideways motion, as to overcome an offsetting current
11.  (intr) to move sideways
Related: cancroid
[Old English crabba; related to Old Norse krabbi, Old High German krebiz crab, Dutch krabben to scratch]

crab2 (kræb)
vb , crabs, crabbing, crabbed
1.  (intr) to find fault; grumble
2.  chiefly (US) (tr) to spoil (esp in the phrase crab someone's act)
3.  an irritable person
4.  (Austral) draw the crabs to attract unwelcome attention
[C16: probably back formation from crabbed]

crab3 (kræb)
short for crab apple
[C15: perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Swedish skrabbe crab apple]

Crab (kræb)
the Crab the constellation Cancer, the fourth sign of the zodiac

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Word Origin & History

O.E. crabba, from a general Gmc. root (cf. Low Ger. krabben "to scratch, claw"). The constellation name is attested in Eng. from c.1000; the Crab Nebula (1868), however, is in Taurus, and is so called for its shape. Crab "fruit of the wild apple tree" (early 15c.) may be from unrelated Scandinavian scrab,
of obscure origin. The combination of "bad-tempered, combative" and "sour" in the two words naturally yielded a meaning of "complain irritably," which is pre-1400. Crabgrass is c.1600, originally a marine grass of salt marshes; modern meaning is from 1743.

c.1200, from Anglo-Fr. cachier "catch, capture" (animals), from V.L. *captiare "try to seize, chase," freq. of L. capere "to take, hold" (see capable). Sense shifted from original meaning of "chase, hunt." Past tense form caught is rare instance of Eng. strong verb with
Fr. origin, probably infl. by latch, the cognate native verb, which this word replaced. Noun meaning "that which is caught or worth catching" (especially of spouses) is from 1590s. To catch on "apprehend" is 1884, Amer.Eng. colloquial. To catch (someone's) eye is first attested 1813, in Jane Austen. Catch as catch can first attested late 14c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

catch definition

  1. n.
    a drawback. : Okay, that sounds good, but what's the catch?
  2. tv.
    to view something; to attend something; to hear something. Gone with the Wind on TV? : Did you catch
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw-Hill Education.
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crab definition

  1. n.
    a louse. (Usually plural.) : He's scratching like he's got crabs.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw-Hill Education.
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