night crawler

American  

noun

Chiefly Northern, North Midland, and Western U.S.

1. an earthworm.

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Regionalisms

See earthworm.

Etymology

Origin of night crawler

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25

Example Sentences

Cumming last played blue-skinned mutant Nightcrawler in 2003's in X2, a 20th Century Fox movie and part of a franchise based on Marvel's X Men comics.

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2025

You might not want to hear about another celebrity’s root canal, but when it’s Alan Cumming undergoing dental surgery in his Nightcrawler makeup during the “X2: X-Men United” shoot, of course you do.

From Washington Post • Oct. 25, 2021

Beyond multiple performers — including Alexandra Albrecht, Rena Anakwe, Edie Nightcrawler and Ambika Raina — it’s unpredictable, a setting for overlapping performances and multidisciplinary work.

From New York Times • Jul. 16, 2021

When Charles shouts “Kurt!” at Nightcrawler in a fight scene, the English-accented actor may as well be yelling “Cut! Cut!”

From Slate • Jun. 10, 2019

And that’s where he misses the chance to comment meaningfully on his subject, and to make Velvet Buzzsaw as memorable and powerful as Nightcrawler.

From The Verge • Feb. 1, 2019