Meaning & use

crawl

verb·Everyday

To move slowly on hands and knees, or to move at a very slow pace.

See it in a sentence

The baby crawled across the living room toward her favorite toy.

Traffic on the highway crawled along for nearly an hour after the accident.

A note on using this word

Crawl can describe a literal movement on all fours or a figurative one, such as slow traffic or a slowly passing afternoon.

Words with a similar meaning

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

dashsprint

Another way to use it

2. noun

A fast swimming stroke performed face down with alternating overarm movements and a flutter kick.

She swam the crawl faster than anyone else in her lane.

Make it your own

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