crabble

C3R1A1B3B3L1E1

verb

To creep, crawl, or clamber, like a crab

Scrabble 13
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Meanings

verbcrabble (third-person singular simple present crabbles, present participle crabbling, simple past and past participle crabbled)

present singular third person crabbles · participle present crabbling · participle past crabbled · past crabbled

  1. intransitiveTo creep, crawl, or clamber, like a crab

    The chameleon crabbled to the middle of the coffee table and defecated.

    2016, Edward Ahern, Capricious Visions
    2 more examples

    His gray shape was a bandy legged bug crabbling up the dark cobblestones.

    2014, Darusha Wehm, Gary Cahill, Ian Creasey, Plan B Volume III: a mystery and crime anthology

    He cribbled and crabbled about there with all his might; but he got a good pressing from the boy's hand for this, which served as a hint to him to keep quiet.

    2017, Hans Andersen, What the Moon Saw: and Other Tales

Origin

From crab + -le (frequentative suffix). Piecewise doublet of crawl, formed in the same way in Proto-Germanic times. Compare also Saterland Frisian krabbelje, Dutch krabbelen, German krabbeln.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with crabble

scrabblebabelbabbletechnobabbledabbledrabblehardscrabblegabble
All rhymes →

Anagrams

clabber
Cite this entry
APA

crabble. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crabble

MLA

“crabble.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crabble. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “crabble,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crabble.

Source: crabble on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.