crawl Hear it!

crawl1 definition

crawl (krôl)

intransitive verb

  1. to move slowly by dragging the body along the ground, as a worm
  2. to go on hands and knees; creep
  3. to move or go slowly or feebly
  4. to move or act in an abjectly servile manner
  5. to swarm or teem (with crawling things)

Etymology: ME craulen < ON krafla < Gmc base *krab-, *kreb-, to scratch (> Ger krabbeln): for IE base see crab

noun

  1. the act of crawling; slow movement
  2. a swimming stroke in which one lies prone, with the face in the water except when turned briefly sideward for breathing, and uses alternate overarm strokes and a flutter kick
  3. a bulletin, explanation, or credits run up or across a TV screen
  4. Brit., Slang pub-crawl

Related Forms:

crawl Idioms

make someone's flesh crawl

or make someone's skin crawl
to give someone a feeling of fear or repugnance, as if insects were crawling on his or her skin
crawl2 definition

crawl (krôl)

noun

an enclosure in shallow water for confining fish, turtles, etc.

Etymology: WIndDu kraal < Sp corral: see corral

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.