crab apple

1. 1.

   any of numerous varieties of crab apples cultivated for their small acidic (usually bright red) fruit used for preserves or as ornamentals for their blossoms

   Synonymscrabapplecultivated crab apple

   Broaderapple tree

   NarrowerSiberian crabSouthern crab apple

   Partscrab apple
2. 2.

   any of numerous wild apple trees usually with small acidic fruit

   Synonymswild applecrabapple

   Broaderapple tree

   Narrowerwild crabAmerican crab appleOregon crab appleIowa crab
3. 3.

   small sour apple; suitable for preserving

   “crabapples make a tangy jelly”

   Synonymscrabapple

   Broaderapple

   Part ofcrab apple

Questions about crab apple

What does crab apple mean?

crab apple means "any of numerous varieties of crab apples cultivated for their small acidic (usually bright red) fruit used for preserves or as ornamentals for their blossoms". That is the primary sense; the word has 3 in total, listed in full on this page.

What is another word for crab apple?

Close synonyms include crabapple, cultivated crab apple, wild apple, crabapple, crabapple. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is crab apple a common word?

crab apple is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.