crawl Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a very slow movement
    • the traffic advanced at a crawl
  2. noun a swimming stroke; arms are moved alternately overhead accompanied by a flutter kick
    Australian crawl; front crawl.
  3. noun a slow mode of locomotion on hands and knees or dragging the body
    creeping; creep; crawling.
    • a crawl was all that the injured man could manage
    • the traffic moved at a creep
  4. verb move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
    creep.
    • The crocodile was crawling along the riverbed
  5. verb feel as if crawling with insects
    • My skin crawled--I was terrified
  6. verb be full of
    • The old cheese was crawling with maggots
  7. verb show submission or fear
    fawn; grovel; cower; cringe; creep.
  8. verb swim by doing the crawl; they often don't know how to crawl"
    • European children learn the breast stroke

WordNet


Crawl intransitive verb
Etymology
Dan. kravle, or Icel. krafla, to paw, scrabble with the hands; akin to Sw. krla to crawl; cf. LG. krabbeln, D. krabbelen to scratch.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Crawled present participle & verbal noun Crawling
Definitions
  1. To move slowly by drawing the body along the ground, as a worm; to move slowly on hands and kness; to creep.
    A worm finds what it searches after only by feeling, as it crawls from one thing to another. Grew.
  2. Hence, to move or advance in a feeble, slow, or timorous manner.
    He was hardly able to crawl about the room. Arbuthnot.
    The meanest thing that crawl'd beneath my eyes. Byron.
  3. To advance slowly and furtively; to insinuate one's self; to advance or gain influence by servile or obsequious conduct.
    Secretly crawling up the battered walls. Knolles.
    Hath crawled into the favor of the king. Shak.
    Absurd opinions crawl about the world. South.
  4. To have a sensation as of insect creeping over the body; as, the flesh crawls. See Creep, v. i. ,7.
Crawl noun
Definitions
  1. The act or motion of crawling;low motion, as of a creeping animal.
Crawl noun
Etymology
Cf. Kraal.
Definitions
  1. A pen or inclosure of stakes and hurdles on the seacoast, for holding fish.

Webster 1913