crawdad

American  

[kraw-dad] / ˈkrɔˌdæd /

noun

1. crayfish.

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Usage

What does crawdad mean? Crawdad is American slang for a crayfish, a freshwater crustacean related to the lobster.Crustaceans are shellfish and include crabs, lobsters, and shrimp. Crawdad, crawdaddy, crawfish, and crayfish all refer to the same general type of animal, but there are several different species. Crawdad is mostly used in the Central Midwestern region of the United States, but its use extends to several states.Example: Missouri is crawdad country—we call ’em “Midwestern lobsters.”

Etymology

Origin of crawdad

An Americanism first recorded in 1900–05; craw(fish) + dad (perhaps dad ¹ ); doodad

Compare meaning

How does crawdad compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• crawdad vs. crawfish
• crawdad vs. crayfish

Example Sentences

The assured magnate, the superficial wife, the doted-upon child who was raised so cloistered he whistles canary songs to a tank of crawdads and tries to teach pet tricks to a fish.

From Los Angeles Times

The chickadee flew in to replace a license plate featuring a crustacean that critics said looked more like a cooked crawdad than a Maine lobster, the state’s signature seafood.

From Seattle Times

The American Southeast has the greatest aquatic biodiversity of anywhere in the temperate world, with an amazing array of fish, mussels, aquatic snails, crawdads and aquatic insects, like mayflies and dragonflies.

From Seattle Times

For decades, children who lived near the creek hunted for crawdads and splashed in the water on hot summer days, unaware of the poison they were playing in.

From Seattle Times

While crawdad season is earlier in the year, catfish fries and seafood boils happen year-round, special occasions or just for an excuse to get together.

From Seattle Times