Meanings
nouncrab spider (plural crab spiders)
plural crab spiders · alternative crabspider
- Any spider of the family Thomisidae of spiders that hunt in flowers.
In temperate regions, these comprise predominantly the adults of smaller money spiders (Linyphiidae) or the juveniles of larger wolf— and crabspiders (Lycosidae, Thomisidae).
2012, Jean Clobert, Michel Baguette, Tim G. Benton, Dispersal Ecology and Evolution
Origin
crab + spider. From being a spider have a resemblance to crabs.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 蟹蛛
- 蟹蛛spiders that hunt in flowers
Finnish rapuhämähäkki
- rapuhämähäkkispiders that hunt in flowers
German Krabbenspinne
- Krabbenspinnespiders that hunt in flowers
Icelandic krabbakónguló, krabbakönguló
- krabbakóngulóspiders that hunt in flowers
- krabbaköngulóspiders that hunt in flowers
Russian пау́к-бокохо́д, пау́к-краб
- пау́к-бокохо́д (paúk-bokoxód)spiders that hunt in flowers
- пау́к-краб (paúk-krab)spiders that hunt in flowers
Swedish krabbspindel
- krabbspindelspiders that hunt in flowers
Turkish yengeç örümceği
- yengeç örümceğispiders that hunt in flowers
Cite this entry
APA
crab spider. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crab%20spider
MLA
“crab spider.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crab%20spider. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “crab spider,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crab%20spider.
Source: crab spider on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.