Definition of "crab apple" [crab apple]

• Any of several deciduous trees of the genus Malus, native to North America and Eurasia and having clusters of white, pink, or reddish flowers. (noun)
• The small tart fruit of such a tree, sometimes used to make jelly and preserves. (noun)

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.

• "Three days ago it was done, with Saturninus standing off to one side grinning like a fool — only he isn’t a fool, so what’s he up to? — and Lucius Equitius gazing blankly at this wizened-up old crab apple of a woman."