Crawl — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

verb noun /ˈkrȯl/

Meaning & Definition of Crawl

Crawl (verb)

  1. to move on one's hands and knees
  2. to move slowly in a prone position without or as if without the use of limbs
  3. to move or progress slowly or laboriously

Crawl (noun)

  1. the act or action of crawling
  2. slow or laborious progress
  3. the visiting of various pubs in succession especially as a social activity

Crawl (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to move slowly with the body close to the ground

    "the time we had to crawl through a narrow passageway from one cave to another"

    similar: belly, creep, grovel, slide, slither, snake, worm, wriggle
    related: crouch, squat, edge, inch, nose, skulk, sneak, steal, tiptoe

  2. to move slowly

    "the weekend traffic on the road to the beach just crawled"

    similar: creak (along), creep, drag, inch, limp, nose, ooze, plod, poke, slouch, snail
    related: lumber, shamble, shuffle, tramp, trudge
    opposite: fly, race, speed, whiz, zip
    near: float, glide, sail, hurry, tear

  3. to move or act slowly

    "the deadline is fast approaching, so this is no time to crawl"

    similar: creep, dally, dawdle, delay, diddle, dillydally, drag, lag, linger, loiter, lollygag, mope, poke, shilly-shally, tarry, drag one's feet, drop behind, fall behind, hang fire, mark time, take one's time
    related: fiddle (around), fool around, mess around, monkey (around), play, potter (around), putter (around), trifle, hang (around or out), idle, loaf, loll, lounge, amble, ease, inch, lumber, plod, saunter, shuffle, stagger, stroll, decelerate, slow (down or up), filibuster, procrastinate, stall, temporize
    opposite: barrel, bolt, career, course, dash, fly, hasten, hotfoot (it), hurry, race, rip, rocket, run, rush, scoot, scud, scurry, speed, tear, whirl, whisk, whiz, zip
    near: bowl, breeze, dart, hump, hurtle, hustle, scramble, stampede, gallop, jog, run, sprint, trot, accelerate, quicken, speed (up), catch up, fast-forward, outpace, outrun, outstrip, overtake

  4. to be copiously supplied

    "something must be up, as city hall is crawling with reporters"

    similar: abound, brim, bristle, bulge, burst, bustle, buzz, hum, overflow, pullulate, swarm, teem
    near: lack, need, want

Crawl (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. as in delay, slowdown

    similar: delay, slowdown, stoppage, congestion, traffic, gridlock, lock, tangle, backup, bottleneck, jam, jam-up, logjam, snarl, tailback (British), tie-up

Related Entry: Make one's flesh creep (phrase)

Make one's flesh creep is a different word from Crawl. The synonyms below are for make one's flesh creep, not for crawl.

  1. to strike with fear

    "The poster for the horror movie made his flesh creep."

    similar: affright, alarm, fright, frighten, horrify, panic, scare, scarify, shock, spook, startle, terrify, terrorize, give one the creeps
    related: appall, bowl over, dismay, floor, jolt, shake, shake up, amaze, astound, awe, chill, daunt, demoralize, dispirit, emasculate, psych (out), undo, unman, unnerve, unstring, discomfort, discompose, disconcert, disquiet, distract, distress, disturb, perturb, unsettle, upset, worry
    opposite: reassure
    near: assure, cheer, comfort, console, solace, soothe, embolden, encourage, hearten, inspire, steel

Related Entry: Made one's flesh creep (phrase)

Made one's flesh creep is a different word from Crawl. The synonyms below are for made one's flesh creep, not for crawl.

  1. to strike with fear

    "The poster for the horror movie made his flesh creep."

    similar: affrighted, alarmed, frighted, frightened, horrified, panicked, scared, scarified, shocked, spooked, startled, terrified, terrorized, gave one the creeps
    related: appalled, bowled over, dismayed, floored, jolted, shook, shook up, amazed, astounded, awed, chilled, daunted, demoralized, dispirited, emasculated, psyched (out), undid, unmanned, unnerved, unstrung, discomforted, discomposed, disconcerted, disquieted, distracted, distressed, disturbed, perturbed, unsettled, upset, worried
    opposite: reassured
    near: assured, cheered, comforted, consoled, solaced, soothed, emboldened, encouraged, heartened, inspired, steeled

Related Entry: Makes one's flesh creep (phrase)

Makes one's flesh creep is a different word from Crawl. The synonyms below are for makes one's flesh creep, not for crawl.

  1. to strike with fear

    "The poster for the horror movie made his flesh creep."

    similar: affrights, alarms, frightens, frights, horrifies, panics, scares, scarifies, shocks, spooks, startles, terrifies, terrorizes, gives one the creeps
    related: appalls, bowls over, dismays, floors, jolts, shakes, shakes up, amazes, astounds, awes, chills, daunts, demoralizes, dispirits, emasculates, psychs (out), undoes, unmans, unnerves, unstrings, discomforts, discomposes, disconcerts, disquiets, distracts, distresses, disturbs, perturbs, unsettles, upsets, worries
    opposite: reassures
    near: assures, cheers, comforts, consoles, solaces, soothes, emboldens, encourages, heartens, inspires, steels

Related Entry: Making one's flesh creep (phrase)

Making one's flesh creep is a different word from Crawl. The synonyms below are for making one's flesh creep, not for crawl.

  1. to strike with fear

    "The poster for the horror movie made his flesh creep."

    similar: affrighting, alarming, frightening, frighting, horrifying, panicking, scarifying, scaring, shocking, spooking, startling, terrifying, terrorizing, giving one the creeps
    related: appalling, bowling over, dismaying, flooring, jolting, shaking, shaking up, amazing, astounding, awing, chilling, daunting, demoralizing, dispiriting, emasculating, psyching (out), undoing, unmanning, unnerving, unstringing, discomforting, discomposing, disconcerting, disquieting, distracting, distressing, disturbing, perturbing, unsettling, upsetting, worrying
    opposite: reassuring
    near: assuring, cheering, comforting, consoling, solacing, soothing, emboldening, encouraging, heartening, inspiring, steeling

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Crawl

The most common words with a similar meaning to Crawl:

British: tailback
belly, creep, grovel, slide, slither, snake, worm, wriggle, creak (along), drag, inch, limp, nose, ooze, plod, poke, slouch, snail, dally, dawdle, delay, diddle, dillydally, lag, linger, loiter, lollygag, mope, shilly-shally, tarry, abound, brim, bristle, bulge, burst, bustle, buzz, hum, overflow, pullulate

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Crawl

Words with the opposite meaning of Crawl:

fly, race, speed, whiz, zip, barrel, bolt, career, course, dash, hasten, hotfoot (it), hurry, rip, rocket, run, rush, scoot, scud, scurry, tear, whirl, whisk

Related Words for Crawl

crouch, squat, edge, skulk, sneak, steal, tiptoe, lumber, shamble, shuffle, tramp, trudge, fiddle (around), fool around, mess around, monkey (around), play, potter (around), putter (around), trifle, hang (around or out), idle, loaf, loll, lounge, amble, ease, saunter, stagger, stroll

Near Antonyms of Crawl

float, glide, sail, bowl, breeze, dart, hump, hurtle, hustle, scramble, stampede, gallop, jog, sprint, trot, accelerate, quicken, speed (up), catch up, fast-forward, outpace, outrun, outstrip, overtake, lack, need, want

Word Forms of Crawl

Inflections: crawled, crawling, crawls

Origin & Etymology of Crawl

Middle English, from Old Norse krafla

First known use: 14th centuryi

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Crawl

Words & Phrases Containing Crawl

crawl space, crawl to a stop/standstill, bar crawl, pub crawl, make someone's skin/flesh crawl, come/crawl out of the woodwork, make someone's flesh crawl/creep, make someone's skin crawl/creep

Frequently Asked Questions about Crawl

What does "Crawl" mean?

"Crawl" means to move on one's hands and knees. As an a verb and a noun, it is defined as: to move on one's hands and knees. It has 5 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Crawl"?

Other words for "Crawl" include belly, creep, grovel, slide, slither, snake, worm and wriggle. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Crawl" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Crawl"?

There are 99 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Crawl". Common alternatives include belly, creep, grovel, slide, slither, snake, worm, wriggle, creak (along) and drag.

What is the opposite of "Crawl"?

Antonyms of "Crawl" include fly, race, speed, whiz, zip, barrel, bolt and career. Near antonyms include float, glide, sail and bowl.

How do you use "Crawl" in a sentence?

Examples of "Crawl" in a sentence: "the time we had to crawl through a narrow passageway from one cave to another"; "the weekend traffic on the road to the beach just crawled"; "the deadline is fast approaching, so this is no time to crawl".

Is "Crawl" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Crawl" can be used as a verb and a noun, depending on the context.

Is "Crawl" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As a C1-level word, "Crawl" is typical of Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE), IELTS band 7.0–8.0, TOEFL iBT 95–113, PTE Academic 76–84, TOEIC Listening & Reading 945+. Advanced words like this are also useful for the GRE, SAT, GMAT, and LSAT.

How do you pronounce "Crawl"?

"Crawl" is pronounced /ˈkrȯl/.