crawling Meaning & Definition
What Does Crawling Mean?
Crawling is a verb that means to move on one's hands and knees. It can also mean to move slowly in a prone position without or as if without the use of limbs.
Word Facts for Crawling
| Part of speech | verb |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈkrȯl/ |
| Syllables | 1 |
| Synonyms | creep, moving and slow |
| Antonyms | barreling, bolting and breakneck |
Crawling Definition (Verb)
- to move on one's hands and knees
The baby crawled toward her mother.
- to move slowly in a prone position without or as if without the use of limbs
The snake crawled into its hole. / The soldiers crawled forward on their bellies.
- to move or progress slowly or laboriously
traffic crawling along at 10 miles an hour
- to advance by guile or servility
crawling into favor by toadying to his boss
- to spread by extending stems or tendrils
a crawling vine
- to be alive or swarming with or as if with creeping things
a kitchen crawling with ants
- to have the sensation of insects creeping over one
The story made her flesh crawl.
- to fail to stay evenly spread
- to move upon in or as if in a creeping manner
all the creatures that crawl the earth
- to reprove harshly
… they got no good right to crawl me for what I wrote …
- to visit and index (websites) for future database queries
This would apparently be a bit like online publishers … [telling] search engines such as Google not to crawl their sites.
Synonyms of Crawling
Antonyms of Crawling
Crawling 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 horrible sight made my skin crawl.
I think I'll crawl the next hundred metres.
The baby crawled the entire second floor.
They crawled the downtown bars.
Yahoo Search has updated its Slurp Crawler to crawl web sites faster and more efficiently.
The baby crawled toward her mother.
The snake crawled into its hole.
The soldiers crawled forward on their bellies.
traffic crawling along at 10 miles an hour
crawling into favor by toadying to his boss
a crawling vine
a kitchen crawling with ants
The story made her flesh crawl.
all the creatures that crawl the earth
… they got no good right to crawl me for what I wrote …
This would apparently be a bit like online publishers … [telling] search engines such as Google not to crawl their sites.
the crawling pace of the narrative is really frustrating
the time we had to crawl through a narrow passageway from one cave to another
the weekend traffic on the road to the beach just crawled
the deadline is fast approaching, so this is no time to crawl
something must be up, as city hall is crawling with reporters
The snake crawled into its hole. / The soldiers crawled forward on their bellies.
Word Forms & Grammar
crawled
crawl·ing
crawls
crawl
crawling
crawling (plural crawlings)
crawling (comparative more crawling, superlative most crawling)
Words That Rhyme With Crawling
Origin of Crawling
Middle English, from Old Norse krafla
First Known Use
14th centuryi
How Do You Say Crawling?
Crawling is pronounced /ˈkrȯl/ and has 1 syllable.
Frequently Asked Questions About Crawling
What part of speech is crawling?
Crawling is a verb.
What is another word for crawling?
Words with a similar meaning to crawling include creep, moving and slow. See the full list of crawling synonyms and antonyms.
What is the opposite of crawling?
Words opposite in meaning to crawling are barreling, bolting, breakneck and breathless.