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Definition of "crabwise" [crabwise]

  • Sideways. (adverb)
  • In a furtive or circumspect manner; indirectly. (adverb)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "crabwise" in a sentence
  • "Layered with countless motifs from Albanian folklore involving betrayal, incest, shame and horror, as well as tragic themes from Plato, Virgil and Cervantes, this section of the narrative is a "crabwise" unfolding of their last 40 days, compiled by a researcher whose own obsession with the case is never explained, but who is ultimately confounded by the unanswerable question: "What right have we got in this pitch-black night to ask about things that are beyond our powers to see?""
  • "I wouldn't say that that evening was born a lifelong passion for theatre – it's been a slow, crabwise journey to get there – but it did do something."
  • "  With a sharp pull and a crabwise motion, it was possible to open the door and pass through it."
Words like "crabwise"