Meaning

11 senses
  1. (intransitive)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. (intransitive)To move or progress slowly or laboriously, or with great difficulty (for example due to feebleness) or frequent stops.

    The rush-hour traffic crawled around the bypass.

  3. (intransitive)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!

    лебези́тьlebezítʹ, заи́скиватьzaískivatʹ, уго́дничатьugódničatʹ

    плазува́тиplazuváty, по́взатиpóvzaty

  4. To spread by extending tendrils, stems, or branches; to creep or trail (as a vine).

    The old house was covered in vines crawling over every available surface.

  5. (intransitive, transitive)To swim using the crawl stroke.

    I think I'll crawl instead of breaststroke.

    I think I'll crawl the next hundred metres.

    kraulen

    плыть кро́лемplytʹ królem

    swim by doing the crawl

  6. (intransitive)Followed by with: see crawl with.

  7. (intransitive)To feel a swarming sensation; to have a sensation like that produced by insects crawling over one's body.

    The horrible sight made my skin crawl.

    krabbeln

    мура́шки по те́луmuráški po télu

    feel as if crawling with insects

  8. (intransitive)To spread unevenly; to fail to be or remain evenly spread.

  9. (transitive)To move over (an area) on hands and knees, or by dragging the body along.

    The baby crawled the entire second floor.

    kriechen, krabbeln

    по́лзатьpólzatʹ, попо́лзатьpopólzatʹ, ползти́polztí

    по́взатиpóvzaty, повзти́povztý

  10. (transitive)To move over (an area) slowly, with frequent stops.

    They crawled the downtown bars.

    kriechen

    ползти́polztí

    плести́сяplestýsja, чимчикува́тčymčykuvát

    move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground

  11. (Internet, transitive)To visit (files or web sites) in order to index them for searching.

    Yahoo Search has updated its Slurp Crawler to crawl websites faster and more efficiently.

Examples

355 sentences
  1. I felt something crawling up my arm.

    Я відчув, що щось повзе мені вверх по руці.

    deIch fühlte, wie etwas meinen Arm hinaufkroch.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · CK · B2Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  2. Tom felt something crawling on his arm.

    Том відчув, як щось повзе по його руці.

    ruТом почувствовал, как что-то ползёт по его руке.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · CK · B2Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  3. Tom cut a hole in the fence and crawled through.

    Том зробив дірку у паркані та проліз крізь неї.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · CK · B2Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  4. That hut is crawling with lizards and insects.

    Та хижа кишить ящірками і комахами.

    deIn der Hütte wimmelt es von Eidechsen und Insekten.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · CM · B2Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  5. Don't try to walk before you can crawl.

    Всьому свій час.

    CC0 · Tatoeba · deniko · B2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

Translations

9 languages
Українська
By meaning 3
to act in a servile manner:
to move along the ground:
to move slowly:
Русский
By meaning 5
to teem or swarm:
to act in a servile manner:
to swim using crawl stroke:
to feel swarming sensation:
to move along the ground:
Deutsch
By meaning 4
to teem or swarm:
to swim using crawl stroke:
to feel swarming sensation:
to move along the ground:

Origin

From Middle English crawlen, crewlen, creulen, crallen, *cravelen, from Old Norse krafla (

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”). Compare also Saterland Frisian krauelje (“to crawl, scuttle”), West Frisian kreauwelje (“to crawl”), Dutch krevelen, krieuwelen (“to crawl”), German Low German kribbeln, German kribbeln (“to creep, crawl, tingle”). See also crab, crabble.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

crawls, crawling, crawled, crawled
Base formcrawl · to crawl
3rd person singularcrawls
Present participlecrawling
Past simplecrawled
Past participlecrawled

regular · Lesson

Present simpleLesson

I, you, we, theycrawl
he, she, itcrawls

Past simpleLesson

all personscrawled

Present perfectLesson

I, you, we, theyhave crawled
he, she, ithas crawled

Future simple (will)Lesson

all personswill crawl

Synonyms

10 synonyms
Close in meaning

Antonyms

4 antonyms

Word family

26 related words

Collocations

8 patterns
  • crawled into bed
  • felt something crawling
  • crawled under the
  • crawled under
  • crawled through
  • crawled out of
  • something crawling
  • was crawling with

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
crawl — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto