crawl
verb
\ ˈkrȯl
\
\
crawled;
crawling;
crawls
Definition of crawl
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a
: to move on one's hands and knees
The baby crawled toward her mother.
b
: 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.
2
: to move or progress slowly or laboriously
traffic crawling along at 10 miles an hour
3
: to advance by guile or servility
crawling into favor by toadying to his boss
4
: to spread by extending stems or tendrils
a crawling vine
5a
: to be alive or swarming with or as if with creeping things
a kitchen crawling with ants
b
: to have the sensation of insects creeping over one
the story made her flesh crawl
6
: to fail to stay evenly spread
—used of paint, varnish, or glaze
1
: to move upon in or as if in a creeping manner
all the creatures that crawl the earth
2
: to reprove harshly
they got no good right to crawl me for what I wrote— Marjorie K. Rawlings
crawl
nounDefinition of crawl (Entry 2 of 2)
1a
: the act or action of crawling
b
: slow or laborious progress
c
chiefly British
: a going from one pub to another
2
: a fast swimming stroke executed in a prone position with alternating overarm strokes and a flutter kick
3
: lettering that moves vertically or horizontally across a television or motion-picture screen to give information (such as performer credits or news bulletins)
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Synonyms for crawl
Synonyms: Verb
belly, creep, grovel, slide, slither, snake, worm, wriggle
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Examples of crawl in a Sentence
Verb
Does the baby crawl yet? We got down on our knees and crawled through a small opening. The baby crawled across the floor toward her mother. The soldiers crawled forward on their bellies. The snake crawled into its hole. They're doing construction on the road, so traffic is crawling. I worked late into the night, and it was 2 a.m. before I finally crawled into bed. The bus crawled along the rough and narrow road. The days slowly crawled by. Work on the project has crawled to a standstill.Noun
Near the construction site, traffic had slowed to a crawl. The bus was moving along at a crawl. Her strongest stroke is the crawl.
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
The first is a flashback when Shirley, the second oldest of the Crain children, is mourning the loss of her pet kitten and becomes horrified when a bug crawls out of its mouth. — Christopher Rosa, Glamour, "Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House Is Basically a Scary This Is Us," 16 Oct. 2018 The baby had apparently gotten around a baby gate and crawled out a window. — Scott Berson, miamiherald, "5-year-old was locked in her room - then was found dangling from the window, Minnesota cops say," 19 June 2018 Asplen said that twice in the past two weeks, someone broke in a window, crawling inside to take the cash from his register as was done at Blizzard’s. — Jon Kelvey, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, "Westminster snowball stand owners report several recent burglaries: 'It drives you nuts’," 28 Aug. 2019 When the spray was spent, the initiates formed two lines and crawled towards the dais. — Sean Williams, Harper's magazine, "The Black Axe," 19 Aug. 2019 The company’s first vehicle is going to look something like a cross between the pod-like self-driving shuttles that are slowly crawling around select city streets and a minivan. — Sean O'kane, The Verge, "Canoo’s CEO steps away as the startup shows off EV designs," 16 Aug. 2019 Motorists may even see one crawling across the road. — Dylan Miettinen, CNN, "Is that love in the air? Thousands of tarantulas to descend on southeast Colorado in search of mates," 9 Aug. 2019 After work, Murphy washed her bedsheets, jumped rope in the alley behind her Santa Monica apartment complex and watched TV before crawling into bed. — Los Angeles Times, "‘Boy Next Door Killer’ Michael Gargiulo guilty in knife attacks on Ashton Kutcher’s date, other young women," 15 Aug. 2019 Who else could attract so many that cars crawl bumper-to-bumper all the way from downtown Lenox, delaying the concert by half an hour? — Zoë Madonna, BostonGlobe.com, "Yo-Yo Ma’s ‘Bach Project’ offers a seat at his table to Tanglewood fans and community groups," 12 Aug. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
For a second consecutive season, the Bruins offense looked lost and confused and eventually slowed to a crawl. — Los Angeles Times, "Column: Where’s the progress? Chip Kelly’s second season at UCLA begins with a whimper," 29 Aug. 2019 Police had seen Hines crawl from the driver's seat to the backseat of the Sentra after the crash. — Bruce Vielmetti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Teen with 9 prior violations charged in crash that injured four, including child bystanders," 2 Aug. 2019 For few things in sports elicit as much melancholy as watching a future Hall-of-Famer crawl to the end of their career. — Shawn Windsor, Detroit Free Press, "Miguel Cabrera reminds us watching decline of future HOF's never easy," 6 June 2019 Fifty firefighters were battling a warehouse fire Friday morning in East Oakland as clouds of black smoke soared into the sky and nearby traffic on Interstate 880 slowed to a crawl. — Michael Cabanatuan, SFChronicle.com, "Large warehouse fire breaks out in East Oakland," 9 Aug. 2019 And best of all, there are no meetings to endure—no need to sit with a vaguely interested expression on your face while time seems to slow to a crawl. — The Economist, "Holidays are good for workers and companies alike," 8 Aug. 2019 In recent years, for example, naturalizations of new citizens have slowed to a crawl. — Matt Ford, The New Republic, "Trump’s Cynical War on American Citizenship," 30 July 2019 Stretch out your legs, and your metabolism, and make room for a few pints with a Chicago brewery crawl. — Josh Noel, chicagotribune.com, "Guide to Chicago’s essential craft breweries for visitors, locals, bar crawlers and enthusiasts," 22 July 2019 Something from a reader So far, Summer readers have suggested visiting a night market in the Bronx, going on a brewery crawl in Queens and canoeing in Brooklyn. — Max Falkowitz, New York Times, "Camping on Staten Island, an Outdoor Adventure Without Leaving N.Y.C.," 17 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'crawl.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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