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make someone's skin crawl

Variant of crawl

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)

Origin: 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:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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