crabby
/ˈkɹæb.i/adjective
crabby is spelled C-R-A-B-B-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 55,433rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, crabby means “Relating to or resembling crabs; crablike” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in crabby?
| Letters | 6: C-R-A-B-B-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 55,433rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is crabby?
Crabby appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 55,433rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce crabby?
- /ˈkɹæb.i/
Crabby has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-crabby.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of crabby
- crabbier comparative
- crabbiest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does crabby mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Relating to or resembling crabs; crablike.
- 2
Abounding with crabs.
- 3
Visibly irritated or annoyed; grouchy, irritable, in a foul mood; given to complaining or finding fault in an annoyed way.
- 4
Crabbed; difficult or perplexing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Crabby in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense irritated:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | grincheux, de mauvais poil |
| Portuguese | ranzinza |
| Spanish | malgeniado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does crabby come from?
From crab + -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).