Crabwise
adj, adv
adj, adv ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 In the manner of a crab; sideways. not-comparable
- 2 Incidental. figuratively, not-comparable
"Quite apart from their crabwise and often reluctant embrace of religious toleration for a wide variety of religious dissidence, both countries achieved a wider distribution of prosperity than any other part of seventeenth-century Europe."
Adjective
- 1 (of movement) at an angle wordnet
Adverb
- 1 In the manner of a crab; sideways. not-comparable
Example
More examples"Quite apart from their crabwise and often reluctant embrace of religious toleration for a wide variety of religious dissidence, both countries achieved a wider distribution of prosperity than any other part of seventeenth-century Europe."
Etymology
From crab + -wise.
More for "crabwise"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.