crawl1

[krawl] /krɔl/
verb (used without object)
1.
to move in a prone position with the body resting on or close to the ground, as a worm or caterpillar, or on the hands and knees, as a young child.
2.
(of plants or vines) to extend tendrils; creep.
3.
to move or progress slowly or laboriously:
The line of cars crawled behind the slow-moving truck. The work just crawled until we got the new machines.
4.
to behave in a remorseful, abject, or cringing manner:
Don't come crawling back to me asking for favors.
5.
to be, or feel as if, overrun with crawling things:
The hut crawled with lizards and insects.
6.
Ceramics. (of a glaze) to spread unevenly over the surface of a piece.
7.
(of paint) to raise or contract because of an imperfect bond with the underlying surface.
verb (used with object)
8.
to visit or frequent a series of (especially bars):
to crawl the neighborhood pubs.
noun
9.
act of crawling; a slow, crawling motion.
10.
a slow pace or rate of progress:
Traffic slowed to a crawl.
11.
Swimming. a stroke in a prone position, characterized by alternate overarm movements combined with the flutter kick.
12.
Television, Movies. titles that slowly move across a screen, providing information.
Origin
1150-1200; Middle English crawlen < Old Norse krafla; compare Danish kravle to crawl, creep
Related forms
crawlingly, adverb
Synonyms
1. Crawl, creep refer to methods of moving like reptiles or worms, or on all fours. They are frequently interchangeable, but crawl is used of a more prostrate movement than creep : A dog afraid of punishment crawls toward his master. Creep expresses slow progress: A child creeps before walking or running.

crawl2

[krawl] /krɔl/
noun, Chiefly South Atlantic States.
1.
an enclosure in shallow water on the seacoast, as for confining fish, turtles, etc.:
a crab crawl.
Origin
1650-60; < Dutch kraal < Spanish corral corral; cf. kraal
Examples from the web for crawl
  • Other signs that the recovery has slowed to a crawl are mounting.
  • Babies must crawl before they walk, parents and pediatricians agree.
  • Caterpillars that live in treetops typically crawl or jump or rappel down silk threads to the ground, where they spin cocoons.
  • We have screened bottom boards, so that the mites hopefully fall through to the ground and don't crawl back into the hives.
  • It offers a three-encounter dungeon crawl session for every level of play.
  • When he gets wrapped up in talking, he forgets about driving and tends to slow to a traffic-jamming crawl.
  • Hapless householders crawl out to hide in the bush, often without time to put on their shoes.
  • On their own, bedbugs crawl about a meter a minute, he says.
  • It eventually seemed to get going again but the past few weeks have seemed to crawl by.
  • The bees eat it, crawl over it, and get thoroughly coated in this slick stuff so that the mites have no toehold.
British Dictionary definitions for crawl

crawl1

/krɔːl/
verb (intransitive)
1.
to move slowly, either by dragging the body along the ground or on the hands and knees
2.
to proceed or move along very slowly or laboriously: the traffic crawled along the road
3.
to act or behave in a servile manner; fawn; cringe
4.
to be or feel as if overrun by something unpleasant, esp crawling creatures: the pile of refuse crawled with insects
5.
(of insects, worms, snakes, etc) to move with the body close to the ground
6.
to swim the crawl
noun
7.
a slow creeping pace or motion
8.
(swimming) Also called Australian crawl, front crawl. a stroke in which the feet are kicked like paddles while the arms reach forward and pull back through the water
Derived Forms
crawlingly, adverb
Word Origin
C14: probably from Old Norse krafla to creep; compare Swedish kravla, Middle Low German krabbelen to crawl, Old Norse krabbicrab1

crawl2

/krɔːl/
noun
1.
an enclosure in shallow, coastal water for fish, lobsters, etc
Word Origin
C17: from Dutch kraalkraal
Word Origin and History for crawl
v.

c.1200, creulen, from a Scandinavian source, perhaps Old Norse krafla "to claw (one's way)," from the same root as crab (n.1). If there was an Old English *craflian, it has not been recorded. Related: Crawled; crawling.

n.

1818, from crawl (v.); in the swimming sense from 1903, the stroke developed by Frederick Cavill, well-known English swimmer who emigrated to Australia and modified the standard stroke of the day after observing South Seas islanders. So called because the swimmer's motion in the water resembles crawling.

Slang definitions & phrases for crawl

crawl

noun
  1. A dance; hop (1920s+)
  2. Text that scrolls up the television screen, esp explaining what happened to the characters of a ''based on fact'' docudrama: And a crawl going up the screen saying she's pleaded no contest/ The use of crawl to finish a quasi-historical story (1960s+)
verb
  1. To do the sex act with; mount •Actually used by the 1890s to mean ''mount and manage a horse'': I finally crawled Mary Jane Cummings last night (1940s+)
  2. To reprimand severely; CHEW someone OUT: ''To crawl'' meant what Second World War troops meant by ''chew out'' (WWI Army)
Related Terms

pub crawl