crawling

British

/ ˈkrɔːlɪŋ /

noun

a defect in freshly applied paint or varnish characterized by bare patches and ridging

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Oh no, it’s not that. It just feels like it would be wrong. A backward thing. Like… I don’t know… a moth crawling back into its cocoon.”

From Literature

They were slimy with mildew, crawling with cockroaches, but to me they seemed the furniture of heaven itself.

From Literature

I felt a warm shiver of fear crawling up my back.

From Literature

It would have been another of life’s perfect moments except for the mosquitoes and chiggers and whatever was crawling off J.W. and onto us.

From Literature

I flinched, my insides crawling, but I stood stock still.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023