crawl Meaning & Definition
What Does Crawl Mean?
As a verb, crawl means To move by dragging one's body along or close to a surface, like a worm or insect, or on one's hands and knees, like a human baby. It is also used to mean To move or progress slowly or laboriously, or with great difficulty (for example due to feebleness) or frequent stops. As a noun, it means The act of moving slowly on hands and knees, etc. As a noun, it means A pen or enclosure of stakes and hurdles for holding fish.
Crawl: Key Facts
| Part of speech | verb, noun |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /kɹɔːl/ |
| Synonyms | creep, fawn and cringe |
| Plural | crawls |
| Verb forms | crawls, crawling, crawled |
Crawl Definition (Verb)
- To move by dragging one's body along or close to a surface, like a worm or insect, or on one's hands and knees, like a human baby.
Clutching my wounded side, I crawled back to the trench.
- To move or progress slowly or laboriously, or with great difficulty (for example due to feebleness) or frequent stops.
The rush-hour traffic crawled around the bypass.
- To advance by guile and servility; to act in a servile manner, trying to please someone in order to gain favor.
Don’t come crawling to me with your useless apologies!
- To spread by extending tendrils, stems, or branches; to creep or trail (as a vine).
The old house was covered in vines crawling over every available surface.
- To swim using the crawl stroke.
I think I'll crawl instead of breaststroke.
- Followed by with: see crawl with.
- To feel a swarming sensation; to have a sensation like that produced by insects crawling over one's body.
The horrible sight made my skin crawl.
- To spread unevenly; to fail to be or remain evenly spread.
- To move over (an area) on hands and knees, or by dragging the body along.
The baby crawled the entire second floor.
- To move over (an area) slowly, with frequent stops.
They crawled the downtown bars.
- To visit (files or web sites) in order to index them for searching.
Yahoo Search has updated its Slurp Crawler to crawl websites faster and more efficiently.
Crawl as a Noun
- The act of moving slowly on hands and knees, etc.
- The act of sequentially visiting a series of similar establishments (i.e., a bar crawl).
- A rapid swimming stroke with alternate overarm strokes and a fluttering kick.
- A very slow pace.
My computer has slowed down to a crawl since I installed that software package.
- A piece of horizontally or vertically scrolling text overlaid on the main image.
Noun
- A pen or enclosure of stakes and hurdles for holding fish.
Noun
- The act of moving slowly on hands and knees etc, or with frequent stops.
Verb
- To creep; to move slowly on hands and knees, or by dragging the body along the ground.
Clutching my wounded side, I crawled back to the trench.
- To move forward slowly, with frequent stops.
The rush-hour traffic crawled around the bypass.
- To act in a servile manner.
Don't come crawling to me with your useless apologies!
- (with "with") See crawl with.
- To feel a swarming sensation.
The horrible sight made my skin crawl.
- To move over an area on hands and knees.
The baby crawled the entire second floor.
- To visit while becoming inebriated.
They crawled the downtown bars.
Synonyms of Crawl
Crawl synonyms and antonyms →Crawl in a Sentence
Clutching my wounded side, I crawled back to the trench.
The rush-hour traffic crawled around the bypass.
Don’t come crawling to me with your useless apologies!
The old house was covered in vines crawling over every available surface.
I think I'll crawl instead of breaststroke.
I think I'll crawl the next hundred metres.
The horrible sight made my skin crawl.
The baby crawled the entire second floor.
They crawled the downtown bars.
Yahoo Search has updated its Slurp Crawler to crawl websites faster and more efficiently.
My computer has slowed down to a crawl since I installed that software package.
Don't come crawling to me with your useless apologies!
Yahoo Search has updated its Slurp Crawler to crawl web sites faster and more efficiently.
Word Forms & Grammar
crawl (third-person singular simple present crawls, present participle crawling, simple past and past participle crawled)
crawl (plural crawls)
Words That Rhyme With Crawl
Origin of Crawl
Origin 1: From Middle English crawlen, crewlen, creulen, crallen, *cravelen, from Old Norse krafla (compare Danish kravle (“to crawl, creep”), Swedish kravla, kräla (“to creep, crawl”)), from Proto-Germanic *krablōną (compare Saterland Frisian krabbelje, Dutch krabbelen, German Low German krabbeln, German krabbeln), frequentative of *krabbōną (“to scratch, scrape”). Compare also Saterland Frisian krauelje (“to crawl, scuttle”), West Frisian kreauwelje (“to crawl”), Dutch krevelen, krieuwelen (“to crawl”), German Low German kribbeln, German kribbeln (“to creep, crawl, tingle”). Piecewise doublet of crabble, etymologically equivalent to crab + -le.
Origin 2: Compare kraal. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.
Quick Answers About Crawl
Is crawl a verb or a noun?
Crawl is mainly used as a verb, but it can also be used as a noun.
What is another word for crawl?
Words with a similar meaning to crawl include creep, fawn and cringe. See the full list of crawl synonyms and antonyms.
What is the plural of crawl?
The plural of crawl is crawls.
What is the past tense of crawl?
The past tense of crawl is crawled. The present participle is crawling.