to move in a prone position with the body resting on or close to the ground, as a worm or caterpillar, or on the hands and knees, as a young child.
(of plants or vines) to extend tendrils; creep.
to move or progress slowly or laboriously: The line of cars crawled behind the slow-moving truck. The work just crawled until we got the new machines.
to behave in a remorseful, abject, or cringing manner: Don't come crawling back to me asking for favors.
to be, or feel as if, overrun with crawling things: The hut crawled with lizards and insects.
Ceramics. (of a glaze) to spread unevenly over the surface of a piece.
(of paint) to raise or contract because of an imperfect bond with the underlying surface.
verb (used with object)
to visit or frequent a series of (especially bars): to crawl the neighborhood pubs.
Also spider. Digital Technology. to retrieve (data) from a website using a computer program, as in order to index web pages for a search engine: Search engines are constantly crawling the web.
noun
act of crawling; a slow, crawling motion.
a slow pace or rate of progress: Traffic slowed to a crawl.
Swimming. a stroke in a prone position, characterized by alternate overarm movements combined with the flutter kick.
Television, Movies. titles that slowly move across a screen, providing information.
Origin of crawl
1
1150–1200;Middle Englishcrawlen < Old Norsekrafla; compare Danishkravle “to crawl, creep”
Related formscrawl·ing·ly, adverbCan be confusedcrawcrawl
Synonym study
1. Crawl,creep refer to methods of moving like reptiles or worms, or on all fours. They are frequently interchangeable, but crawl is used of a more prostrate movement than creep : A dog afraid of punishment crawls toward his master.Creep expresses slow progress: A child creeps before walking or running.
crawl
2
[krawl]
nounChiefly South Atlantic States.
an enclosure in shallow water on the seacoast, as for confining fish, turtles, etc.: a crab crawl.
to move slowly, either by dragging the body along the ground or on the hands and knees
to proceed or move along very slowly or laboriouslythe traffic crawled along the road
to act or behave in a servile manner; fawn; cringe
to be or feel as if overrun by something unpleasant, esp crawling creaturesthe pile of refuse crawled with insects
(of insects, worms, snakes, etc) to move with the body close to the ground
to swim the crawl
noun
a slow creeping pace or motion
Also called: Australian crawl, front crawlswimminga stroke in which the feet are kicked like paddles while the arms reach forward and pull back through the water
Derived Formscrawlingly, adverb
Word Origin for crawl
C14: probably from Old Norse krafla to creep; compare Swedish kravla, Middle Low German krabbelen to crawl, Old Norse krabbicrab1
crawl
2
noun
an enclosure in shallow, coastal water for fish, lobsters, etc
c.1200, creulen, from a Scandinavian source, perhaps Old Norse krafla "to claw (one's way)," from the same root as crab (n.1). If there was an Old English *craflian, it has not been recorded. Related: Crawled; crawling.
n.
1818, from crawl (v.); in the swimming sense from 1903, the stroke developed by Frederick Cavill, well-known English swimmer who emigrated to Australia and modified the standard stroke of the day after observing South Seas islanders. So called because the swimmer's motion in the water resembles crawling.
