crawler

American  

[kraw-ler] / ˈkrɔ lər /

noun

1. a person or thing that crawls.

2. Digital Technology. web crawler.

3. Also called crawler tractor.  any of various large, heavy vehicles or machines that are propelled on endless belts or tracks, especially as used in construction.

4. hellgrammite.

5. Often crawlers. a garment with long pants, short sleeves or suspender straps, and sometimes feet for a baby who does not yet walk.

6. Australian Slang. sycophant.

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crawler British  

/ ˈkrɔːlə /

noun

1. slang a servile flatterer

2. a person or animal that crawls

3. an informal name for earthworm

4. a computer program that is capable of performing recursive searches on the Internet

5. (plural) a baby's overalls; rompers

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Etymology

Origin of crawler

1640–50; 1925–30 crawler for def. 4; crawl ¹ + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Traveling at a top speed of just 0.82 mph, the crawler moved the massive Moon rocket steadily toward the launch pad.

From Science Daily • Jan. 19, 2026

When the crew of the colonization mission discover that their new home, an ice planet called Niflheim, is inhabited by armadillo-like crawler creatures, they wonder what to do about this unanticipated roadblock in their efforts.

From Salon • Mar. 25, 2025

Publishers could also try to protect their content from Google by forbidding its web crawler from sharing any content snippets from their sites.

From New York Times • Jun. 1, 2024

Or, maybe, the featured Google snippet will tell you that eggs can melt, thanks to a nonsense Quora answer caught in the search crawler.

From Slate • Feb. 2, 2024

“An unfortunate crawler told us you drowned, Ripred,” said the king in a low voice.

From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins

Related Words

• babe
• chick
• child
• kid
• toddler
• youngster