Definition of crawl - Reverso English Dictionary
Verb
1.
movementmove slowly on hands and knees
- The baby began to crawl across the floor.
2.
slow progressmove forward slowly with frequent stops
- The traffic crawled through the city streets.
3.
swimmingswim using alternating overarm strokes and flutter kick
- She crawled across the pool effortlessly.
4.
sensationfeel a swarming sensation
- Her skin crawled at the thought of spiders.
5.
fullnessbe full of something
- The garden was crawling with ants.
6.
internettr. TECH. visit websites to index themtr. TECH.
- The search engine crawls the web for updates.
7.
servilityact in a servile manner
- He would crawl to his boss for a promotion.
Noun
1.
slow movementmovement on hands and knees or close to the ground
- The baby's crawl was cautious and slow..
2.
movementvery slow pace
- Traffic was reduced to a crawl during rush hour.
3.
entertainmentUS sequential visit to similar establishmentsUS
- They planned a crawl through the city's pubs.
4.
freestyleswimming stroke done face down with alternating arm strokes and kicks
- He perfected his crawl to compete in the swimming race..
5.
mediaTECH. US scrolling text overlaid on main imageTECH. US
- The news channel displayed a crawl with updates.
Images of crawl

movement on hands and knees or close to the ground
Expressions with crawl
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be filled with many moving things
The old house crawled with spiders.
tour of several bars in one evening, often on foot
They organized a bar crawl for his birthday, visiting five different pubs..
arrive at a place very late
She crawled in at 3 AM after the party.
follow simple first steps before trying harder or more complex things
New programmers must crawl before they can walk with advanced frameworks.
start with simple tasks before complex ones
In business, it's wise to crawl before you walk.
wake up and leave bed with difficulty
After a long night, he crawled out of bed at noon.
cause someone to feel uneasy, disgusted or frightened
That scene made my skin crawl the whole time.
cause someone to feel fear or disgust
The eerie silence made my skin crawl.
moving very slowly like a crawl
The traffic was moving at a crawl during rush hour.
learn basic skills before complex ones
In martial arts, you must crawl before you walk into advanced techniques.
withdraw from social interactions or activities
After the argument, he crawled into his shell and avoided everyone.
emerge unexpectedly from obscurity or hiding
Fans crawl out of the woodwork when the team starts winning.
compete intensely for the same goal
The candidates crawled over each other for the promotion.
feel extreme frustration or irritation
The constant noise made him crawl up the wall.
visit several pubs in one night for drinks
They decided to go on a pub crawl for his birthday.
cause someone to feel very uncomfortable or scared
The horror movie made her skin crawl.
cause a feeling of fear or disgust
The horror movie made my skin crawl.
cause someone to feel fear or disgust
The horror movie made her flesh crawl.
cause a feeling of fear or disgust
The horror movie made her flesh crawl.
move very slowly close to a surface
The cars crawl along the highway during rush hour.
move upward slowly and carefully
The baby tried to crawl up the stairs.
swimming style using alternating arms and a flutter kick
He won the race using the front crawl.
activity of drinking at several pubs in one night
The pub-crawl lasted until midnight.
reduce speed significantly
The traffic began to slow to a crawl due to the accident.
Origin of crawl
Old Norse, krafla (to claw)
Terms with crawl included in their meaning
💡 A powerful way to uncover related words, idioms, and expressions linked by the same idea — and explore meaning beyond exact word matches.
floor crawl
exercise moving sideways on hands and feet
crawl
move forward using your knees
slow movement
moving very slowly like a crawl
swimming style
move through water using the crawl stroke
movement
slow crawl on the belly
army movement
military crawl close to the ground
military
military crawl with arm and opposite knee movement
competition
crawl faster or farther than another
Examples of crawl in a sentence
The soldier had to crawl under the barbed wire. The hikers crawled up the steep hill. The project crawled along due to budget cuts. He crawled to the other side of the lake. The athlete crawled through the water with ease. His scalp crawled when he heard the eerie noise.
The thought of the haunted house made her skin crawl. The room was crawling with spiders. The city was crawling with tourists. Websites are crawled regularly for new content. The bot crawls the site to gather data. She refused to crawl before the committee. Don't crawl to people who treat you badly. The crawl through the tunnel was exhausting. His crawl across the floor was painfully slow. After the injury, his recovery slowed to a crawl. The download moved at a crawl all afternoon. The crawl included five different bars. They joined a crawl of local breweries. She learned the crawl to improve her swimming skills. The coach taught him the crawl for the competition. The sports channel had a crawl with scores. A crawl at the bottom announced the weather alert.
View all translations of crawl
Click below to see the appropriate translations facing each meaning.
- French:ramper, quatre pattes, ...
- German:krabbeln, Kriechen, ...
- Italian:gattonare, passo di lumaca, ...
- Spanish:gatear, gateo, ...
- Portuguese:gatinhar, rastejo, ...
- Chinese:爬行, 缓慢行进, ...
- Japanese:這う, 這うこと, ...
- Arabic:زَحَفَ, حَبْو, ...
- Hebrew:לִזְחוֹל, זְחִילָה, ...
- Russian:ползти, ползание, ...
- Ukrainian:повзати, повзання, ...
- Hindi:रेंगना, धीमी गति, ...
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