Meaning & use
crawl
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Meanings
verbintransitive
To move forward on your hands and knees, or with your body close to the ground.
Grammar: No object; often followed by an adverb or preposition: crawl across, crawl toward.
Patterns
- crawl across something
- crawl toward someone
- crawl into something
The baby crawled across the living room floor.
We had to crawl through the narrow tunnel.
He crawled into the tent to escape the rain.
verbintransitive
To move very slowly, especially in traffic or when time seems to pass slowly.
Grammar: No object; often used of vehicles or time: traffic crawled, the hours crawled by.
Patterns
- traffic crawls
- time crawls
- crawl along
Traffic crawled along the highway for miles.
The afternoon crawled by while we waited for news.
The line of people crawled forward inch by inch.
nounsingular
A very slow speed, or an act of moving on hands and knees.
Grammar: Usually used in the phrase 'at a crawl' to mean very slowly.
Patterns
- at a crawl
- slow to a crawl
The cars were moving at a crawl.
The project has slowed to a crawl.
nounsingularsport
A fast swimming stroke done face down with alternating overarm movements and a flutter kick.
Grammar: Often used in the phrase 'the crawl' or 'front crawl'.
Patterns
- swim the crawl
- front crawl
She swam the crawl in record time.
He prefers the crawl to the breaststroke.
Word forms
| third person singular | crawls |
|---|---|
| past tense | crawled |
| past participle | crawled |
| -ing form | crawling |
Common combinations
- crawl on hands and knees
- The toddler crawled on hands and knees to reach the toy.
- crawl through a tunnel
- The soldiers had to crawl through a narrow tunnel.
- traffic crawls
- Traffic crawls during rush hour.
- at a crawl
- The economy is moving at a crawl.
- crawl with something
- The floor was crawling with ants.
Synonyms and how they differ
- creep
- Creep often suggests a quiet, cautious, or stealthy movement, while crawl focuses on moving on hands and knees or slowly.
- drag
- Drag means to move slowly and with effort, often because of heaviness; crawl is more about the position of the body or slow speed.
- inch
- Inch means to move very slowly in small steps; crawl can also mean moving on hands and knees.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: crawl or creep?
crawl vs creep
Creep can mean to move quietly and slowly, but it also has other meanings (e.g., an unpleasant person). Crawl is more specific to moving on hands and knees or very slowly.
Practice
The baby _____ across the floor to reach her toy.
Choose one answer.
The past tense 'crawled' is needed because the action happened in the past. 'Crawl' is the base form, 'crawling' is the -ing form, and 'crawls' is present tense for he/she/it.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “crawl”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.