Meaning

(intransitive) To creep; to move slowly on hands and knees, or by dragging the body along the ground..

Definitions by Sense

1. (intransitive) To creep; to move slowly on hands and knees, or by dragging the body along the ground.
2. (intransitive) To move forward slowly, with frequent stops.
3. (intransitive) To act in a servile manner.
4. (intransitive) Followed by with: see crawl with.
5. (intransitive) To feel a swarming sensation.
6. (intransitive, transitive) To swim using the crawl stroke.
7. (transitive) To move over (an area) on hands and knees.
8. (transitive) To move over (an area) slowly, with frequent stops.

Example Sentences

Clutching my wounded side, I crawled back to the trench.

A VVorm finds vvhat it ſearches after, only by Feeling, as it cravvls from one thing to another. VVhereas a Man, having Eyes, ſees it in a Moment, all before him.

'Children crawled over each other like little grey worms in the gutters,' he said. 'The only red things about them were their buttocks and they were raw. Their faces looked as if snails had slimed on them and their mothers were like great sick beasts whose byres had never been cleared.[…]'

The rush-hour traffic crawled around the bypass.

Don’t come crawling to me with your useless apologies!

Our hard-ruled king. Again, there is sprung up. An heretic, an arch one, Cranmer; one. Hath crawled into the favour of the king

The horrible sight made my skin crawl.

I think I’ll crawl the next hundred metres.

Word Forms

• crawls
• crawling
• crawled

Synonyms for crawl

Antonyms for crawl

Related Words

When Should You Use Crawl?

Use crawl when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

Practice This Word

Frequently Asked Questions