crawl
Forms
- present (v1)
- crawl
- past (v2)
- crawled
- past participle (v3)
- crawled
- present participle
- crawling
- 3rd person singular
- crawls
- Plural
- crawls
Definitions
1.To move by dragging one's body along or close to a surface, like a worm or insect, or on one's hands and knees, like a human baby.
- Clutching my wounded side, I crawled back to the trench.
2.To move or progress slowly or laboriously, or with great difficulty (for example due to feebleness) or frequent stops.
- While we Vnburthen'd crawle toward death.
- Sickneese posteth to us, but crawleth from us.
- The rush-hour traffic crawled around the bypass.
3.To advance by guile and servility; to act in a servile manner, trying to please someone in order to gain favor.
- Don’t come crawling to me with your useless apologies!
4.To spread by extending tendrils, stems, or branches; to creep or trail (as a vine).
- Passion-flowers, ipomaeas, and hibiscus crawled over every wall.
- The old house was covered in vines crawling over every available surface.
- A little […] Nerve […] which crawls up and down the Coat of the Liver.
1.The act of moving slowly on hands and knees, etc.
2.A rapid swimming stroke with alternate overarm strokes and a fluttering kick.
3.A very slow pace.
- My computer has slowed down to a crawl since I installed that software package.
4.The act of sequentially visiting a series of similar establishments (i.e., a bar crawl).
Frequency
Overall
Rare· #4165
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Rare
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Etymology
From Middle English crawlen, crewlen, creulen, crallen, *cravelen, from Old Norse krafla (compare Danish kravle (“to crawl, creep”), Swedish kravla, kräla (“to creep, crawl”)), from Proto-Germanic *krablōną (compare Saterland Frisian krabbelje, Dutch krabbelen, German Low German krabbeln, German krabbeln), frequentative of *krabbōną (“to scratch, scrape”).