crab apple

noun

1. a small, sour, wild apple.
2. any of various small, tart, cultivated varieties of apple, used for making jelly and preserves.
3. any tree bearing such fruit.

crab apple

noun

1. any of several rosaceous trees of the genus Malus that have white, pink, or red flowers and small sour apple-like fruits
2. the fruit of any of these trees, used to make jam

Word History and Origins

Origin of crab apple¹

First recorded in 1705–15

Example Sentences

On a knoll the air is honeyed with wild crab-apple; along a slope the senses tingle with the scent of the green walnut.

From Project Gutenberg

Spiced crab-apple jelly is nice, too; you just add a bag of whole spices as it cooks.

From Project Gutenberg

The glen is strewn with limestone rocks, and at its head stands a twisted crab-apple tree.

From Project Gutenberg

To the crab-apple pulp, add the sugar, and place over the fire to boil.

From Project Gutenberg

Ecks was executing a series of caricatures illustrating the involution of Hodgkins' face back into a crab-apple.

From Project Gutenberg