Find the word definition

Crossword clues for crawl

crawl
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
crawl
I.verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a spider crawls somewhere
▪ A huge spider just crawled under that chair.
an insect crawls (=moves along the ground )
▪ A tiny insect was crawling up his arm.
crawl into bed (=get into bed feeling very tired)
▪ We finally crawled into bed at three in the morning.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
about
▪ There were several families under the trees now, with little children running around and babies crawling about in the grass.
▪ Unlike those I had found in the winter, these ants crawled about weakly.
▪ Individual cells may crawl about over the surface of the sponge like amoebae.
▪ It crawled about outside the murmuring door and fell to the earth.
▪ Primeval and unfinished, crawling about like a busy white slug.
▪ Its tiny head and legs project from one side but it can no longer crawl about.
▪ He was strong, crawled about for a short while and walked quite strongly at ten months.
along
▪ He crawled along the branch until he reached the nearest flower.
▪ Paranoia crawls along on its belly in this forest.
▪ He crawled along the shelf, peering, feeling with his hands.
▪ Below, cars crawl along on mats of shadow; further off are two long ranks of primrose-yellow taxis.
▪ You either hear this truth or you crawl along the ground looking for worms.
around
▪ Just as soon as the young ferrets can see and crawl around the nest is the time to make a start.
▪ Inspectors may have to climb ladders or many flights of stairs, or may have to crawl around in tight spaces.
▪ Sooner or later you will find one or more adult insects crawling around inside the cage.
▪ Teddi was just out of her crib, and my parents had let her crawl around to play with her toys.
▪ All I can remember is crawling around the floor trying to get away from her.
▪ But it gave you some pause to think of what else might be crawling around there.
▪ The hands had crawled around to 1.26 a.m.
▪ Robert and Peter were crawling around under there, poking sills and floor joists.
away
▪ She felt cold and sick and wished she could crawl away and lie down.
▪ Last he heard, only one boy had dropped to the ground and managed to crawl away.
▪ Maggie felt like curling up and crawling away.
▪ But they crawl away from the fire and wriggle on top of the water.
▪ The fifth turned into a small yellow caterpillar and crawled away.
▪ If I had believed what they said about me, I would have crawled away and given up.
▪ Angalo nodded in a puzzled fashion, and crawled away into the darkness.
▪ It left a mark, they could see it now, gleaming on the sand as muddy swell crawled away.
back
▪ Clutching himself he crawled back to the cabinet and ran a tentative hand over the woodwork.
▪ Later, he's the one who's dumped and comes crawling back.
▪ Tom crawled back out into the sun and pulled Willie out after him.
▪ He regained consciousness and crawled back to the house to be taken care of by his young wife.
▪ They can find a way to crawl back if they want to.
▪ The other survivor, Bennett, crawled back and has since lain a cripple.
▪ Jinju had crawled back to the road.
down
▪ Secrets, she thought, feeling a cold, clammy fear crawling down her neck.
▪ I told her the whole ugly story, and step by step I crawled down into the horror of it again.
▪ I have crawled down the barrels of guns on all five continents, only to spring forth again - triumphant.
▪ It crawls down the vine and enters the soil, whereupon it reaches and punctures the roots for nourishment.
forward
▪ Then she crawled forward again, by inches.
▪ Miguel was parking the car-backing up, crawling forward, until the trunk of the Ford Escort ahead gleamed with his headlights.
▪ She began to crawl forward again, her eyes continually flickering between the tracks on either side of her.
▪ The shell would barely crawl forward, and certainly not overtake light.
in
▪ He crawled in here and the police came.
▪ The ravenous little blood-suckers were nipping at our ankles and crawling in through the eyelets of our boots.
▪ I might even be able to crawl in beside Helen for an hour.
▪ I was a little more agile and just jumped and crawled in.
▪ They crawled in, Creed crouched over her, Prunella taking most of his weight.
▪ What made you want to crawl in with them mucky birds like that?
off
▪ I brought my family in to see him, but he crawled off to hide among some pots.
▪ Now it is a dumb, stupid mastodon of a thing, crawling off to Bal Harbour to die.
▪ Surely these forces can not result in the ship crawling off the launch pad?
▪ Even drunks at parties manage to crawl off the mats to be ill.
▪ She would have hated it if she had to admit defeat, and crawl off to a hotel somewhere.
▪ I crawled off his body and sat down in the road, tears streaming down my face.
▪ A camera catches a technician crawling ofF the set!
on
▪ It was like being the first sea creature to crawl on to the shore and discover his gills had become lungs.
▪ She crawled on the ground in agony, fingers digging into the sandy soil like steel claws.
▪ She crawled on to the bed and hugged herself like a child with no one there to bring comfort.
▪ The Cockroach crawls on, at least for another day.
▪ And so the morning crawled on.
▪ He roared and crawled on up the valley.
out
▪ I crawled out cold, cramped, and feeling sick - to a world that seemed to have disappeared altogether.
▪ Glover would crawl out after him on the roof at the top of the house and look down on the lake.
▪ I awoke feeling cold and crawled out to the front of the trench.
▪ Used to crawl out on the roof in that little pink wrapper, but not anymore.
▪ He crawls out, his face streaked with oil, and dries himself with a rag.
▪ Fearful, yet inquisitive, Moon-Watcher crawled out on to the edge of the cave and peered down the face of the cliff.
▪ Not until they come down will people begin to crawl out from under their loads of debt.
▪ He was so tired his bones ached; but he crawled out of bed, put on his pants and watch.
over
▪ I am a fly on the face of the Almighty, crawling over the surface to see what's what.
▪ Directly below her were some tiny creatures crawling over the surface.
▪ Shivers crawled over her heated skin, her palms went clammy, and the blood drummed in her ears deafeningly.
▪ He crawled over to the fallen branch by the big pine, found his second shotgun and unwrapped it.
▪ The temptation to crawl over to him was strong, but she resisted.
▪ Small birds flitted in the shade of the branches and bees were crawling over the red and white clover.
▪ A mass of flies buzzed out of the knee-high undergrowth and crawled over his face and arms.
▪ Men crawled over the area like ants over an anthill, and several small handcarts rolled along here and there.
round
▪ As it crawls round and round in circles it keeps revisiting the same pebbles.
▪ Reaching the point where Fernand had disappeared, she crawled round the angle of rock.
▪ Ten yards further on, Siegfried found a trip-wire and gestured McCready to crawl round it.
up
▪ I stood, swayed, dropped my hands to the steps and crawled up.
▪ Miguel crawled up the street slowly, slipping into a parking spot a block down from the fire.
▪ They also stop insects crawling up the waste pipes.
▪ He crawls up to her on all fours like a gentle but ravenous bear and begins to nuzzle her.
▪ He tried to crawl up her and she screamed and fell over.
▪ Then one morning I wake to feel one crawling up my arm.
▪ The larvae of red worms crawl up the blades of grass and are eaten by horses.
▪ He left the place quickly, embarrassment crawling up his neck as he found his way to the door.
■ NOUN
ant
▪ Then ants would crawl through the cracks in the floor and build a big nest in the middle of the bedroom.
▪ Unlike those I had found in the winter, these ants crawled about weakly.
▪ All he was aware of now were ants crawling up the leg on an endless march towards the wound.
▪ A million red ants crawling inside a silk sheet, that was what I should have seen.
bed
▪ She crawled out of bed, peered into the mirror, and gave a small groan.
▪ He was so tired his bones ached; but he crawled out of bed, put on his pants and watch.
▪ A second slab of beef has crawled out of bed and found his doorknob.
▪ Once, a few years ago, his father had broken into the house and crawled into his bed.
▪ It would be wonderful to crawl into bed, to ask Matron for an aspirin.
▪ She snapped him up as soon as he finished the sausage she fed him and he crawled into her bed crying.
▪ She crawled on to the bed and hugged herself like a child with no one there to bring comfort.
▪ Jen came out of the bathroom, dressed in a shirt this time, and crawled into bed alongside me.
floor
▪ Sobbing, gasping for breath, she began to crawl across the floor.
▪ She crawled across the floor in the darkness, her body drenched in sweat, her eyes stinging from all the smoke.
▪ She fell down on her knees and began crawling across the floor.
▪ All I can remember is crawling around the floor trying to get away from her.
hand
▪ She peered out and saw him crawling on hands and knees along the ledge.
▪ She crawled on her hands and knees.
▪ He crawled on hand and knees across the landing, the ancient boards creaking beneath him.
▪ Nuri was on the beach, waiting, when I crawled up on my hands and knees.
▪ A small baby crawled out on its hands and knees, its face covered in grime.
▪ A climber literally crawls, hand over hand, up a vertical face, sinking the ax with every step.
place
▪ The place was crawling with kids - bundles, toddlers, nippers, loping adolescents.
▪ He left the place quickly, embarrassment crawling up his neck as he found his way to the door.
▪ The place was crawling with closets, and not a thing worth stealing in any of them.
skin
▪ Despite the heat of the sun, her skin was crawling with goosepimples.
▪ The woman made his skin crawl.
▪ You may even feel your skin crawling after a difficult meeting or with the impact of crowds of people.
wall
▪ Water rose up through the floorboards; blackening fungus crawled over the walls.
▪ The rats eat that poison, then they crawl into your walls and die.
woodwork
▪ They could smell a funeral a mile off, and out they crawled, out of the woodwork.
▪ There are wallabies crawling out of the woodwork.
▪ Just the club cashing in with the sad sheep crawling out of the woodwork everywhere.
worm
▪ The larvae of red worms crawl up the blades of grass and are eaten by horses.
▪ He played an almost extinct worm crawling through dead leaves.
▪ Or let the worms crawl on dry newspaper and listen to them carefully.
▪ The worms crawl on to the sticks, which can then be picked up and dipped directly into the fry tank.
▪ The root gives off a chemical which incites the worms to hatch and crawl into it.
■ VERB
begin
▪ Sobbing, gasping for breath, she began to crawl across the floor.
▪ After Smitty had gone out, Converse began to crawl to-ward the bathroom door.
▪ He began to crawl uncertainly around.
▪ He covered himself with a blanket that suddenly seemed to move on its own-an army of insects began crawling over his skin.
▪ She began to crawl and he almost lost her.
▪ Not until they come down will people begin to crawl out from under their loads of debt.
▪ She fell down on her knees and began crawling across the floor.
manage
▪ A blast of air knocked him over but he managed to crawl through a tunnel under Euston Road.
▪ Last he heard, only one boy had dropped to the ground and managed to crawl away.
▪ Mr Duddy spent a day stuck on the sheer sides of the cone before managing to crawl out on his own.
▪ Even drunks at parties manage to crawl off the mats to be ill.
start
▪ He sent Charles back to start crawling.
▪ Two other wounded men and myself started crawling farther.
▪ Then he started crawling toward a parking sign.
▪ This time, I stayed down and started crawling.
try
▪ He tried to crawl up her and she screamed and fell over.
▪ The three of us shrieked hysterically as one lobster tried to crawl his way out up the sides.
▪ Sergeant Alan King died after being stabbed repeatedly by Vernage as he tried to crawl to safety.
▪ Seeing the video, she tried to crawl into the television set, then dove, hysterical, under the bed.
▪ Then you will easily see any you may have dropped which are trying to crawl away.
▪ Down below on the staircase, the thing that had been Farley Peters was trying to crawl up the steps towards him.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
be climbing/crawling (up) the walls
▪ Realizes he is moving in her desperately, as if he is climbing the walls of a closed building.
crawl/come out of the woodwork
▪ Creativity was coming out of the woodwork.
▪ There are wallabies crawling out of the woodwork.
make sb's flesh creep/crawl
make sb's skin crawl
▪ The thought of him touching me just makes my skin crawl.
▪ It made her skin crawl, the deference.
▪ The woman made his skin crawl.
▪ They make the skin crawl like it is on fire, even as it is bathed in sweat.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ It took several hours to drive the 50 miles, crawling along through the snow.
▪ The old Buick barely managed to crawl up the hill.
▪ We sat in the car with the radio on, crawling along behind a long line of other cars.
▪ When did Sam start crawling?
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Fearful, yet inquisitive, Moon-Watcher crawled out on to the edge of the cave and peered down the face of the cliff.
▪ Glover would crawl out after him on the roof at the top of the house and look down on the lake.
▪ It terrified her to think that the whole riddled mountain crawled with men like that one.
▪ Miguel crawled up the street slowly, slipping into a parking spot a block down from the fire.
▪ She crawled out of bed, peered into the mirror, and gave a small groan.
▪ They also stop insects crawling up the waste pipes.
▪ They seemed to be crawling in the tunnel for a lifetime before they found another grille.
▪ You either hear this truth or you crawl along the ground looking for worms.
II.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
pub
▪ Drinkers Plan: The traditional pub crawl doesn't have to be another dreary Friday night wander.
▪ The last bar on my pub crawl is the most contentious.
▪ But it was more than just a pub crawl.
skin
▪ It made her skin crawl, the deference.
▪ They make the skin crawl like it is on fire, even as it is bathed in sweat.
space
▪ The first is the crawl space beneath any suspended timber floors, where rot can quickly develop unless ventilation is good.
▪ Teacher Song, a slender man, fit easily into the crawl space.
▪ Chang-Kyu would hide in the crawl space under the floor.
▪ Under most floors were dirt crawl spaces that could be used for storage.
▪ Hindered by scolding women and jeering men, the soldiers lowered themselves into the cramped crawl spaces.
▪ Q.. The tub drain and trap under a bathroom and over a crawl space froze last winter.
■ VERB
make
▪ But it was Gerry Conlon's account of being interrogated after the Guildford bombings that made the scalp crawl.
▪ It made her skin crawl, the deference.
▪ They make the skin crawl like it is on fire, even as it is bathed in sweat.
slow
▪ It seemed to take for ever, slowing to a crawl as it drew parallel with him.
▪ Industrial expansion had slowed to a crawl.
▪ Adam slowed to a crawl, as if stopping for him.
▪ And discussions over the construction of theme parks and movie theaters slowed to a crawl.
▪ Sometimes when the movie slows to a crawl, they chain-smoke while wearing hats.
▪ Here, though, time slows to a crawl.
▪ The ball just seemed to slow down and crawl through the air....
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
crawl/come out of the woodwork
▪ Creativity was coming out of the woodwork.
▪ There are wallabies crawling out of the woodwork.
make sb's flesh creep/crawl
make sb's skin crawl
▪ The thought of him touching me just makes my skin crawl.
▪ It made her skin crawl, the deference.
▪ The woman made his skin crawl.
▪ They make the skin crawl like it is on fire, even as it is bathed in sweat.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Traffic has slowed to a crawl.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Her scissors move through the material like a swimmer doing crawl, among the archipelago of tissue paper.
▪ The entrance is dry but soon becomes low, developing into a crawl where the stream from Lower Long Churn is admitted.
▪ We go back in a creepy crawl up the trail, same scenario.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Crawl

Crawl \Crawl\ (kr?l), n. The act or motion of crawling; slow motion, as of a creeping animal.

Crawl

Crawl \Crawl\, n. [Cf. Kraal.] A pen or inclosure of stakes and hurdles on the seacoast, for holding fish.

Crawl

Crawl \Crawl\ (kr[add]l), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Crawled (kr[add]ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Crawling.] [Dan. kravle, or Icel. krafla, to paw, scrabble with the hands; akin to Sw. kr[aum]la to crawl; cf. LG. krabbeln, D. krabbelen to scratch.]

  1. To move slowly by drawing the body along the ground, as a worm; to move slowly on hands and knees; to creep.

    A worm finds what it searches after only by feeling, as it crawls from one thing to another.
    --Grew.

  2. Hence, to move or advance in a feeble, slow, or timorous manner.

    He was hardly able to crawl about the room.
    --Arbuthnot.

    The meanest thing that crawl'd beneath my eyes.
    --Byron.

  3. To advance slowly and furtively; to insinuate one's self; to advance or gain influence by servile or obsequious conduct.

    Secretly crawling up the battered walls.
    --Knolles.

    Hath crawled into the favor of the king.
    --Shak.

    Absurd opinions crawl about the world.
    --South.

  4. To have a sensation as of insect creeping over the body; as, the flesh crawls. See Creep, v. i., 7.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
crawl

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

crawl

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.

Wiktionary
crawl

Etymology 1 n. 1 The act of moving slowly on hands and knees etc, or with frequent stops 2 A rapid swimming stroke with alternate overarm strokes and a fluttering kick 3 (context television film English) A piece of horizontally scrolling text overlaid on the main image. vb. (context intransitive English) To creep; to move slowly on hands and knees, or by dragging the body along the ground. Etymology 2

n. A pen or enclosure of stakes and hurdles for holding fish.

WordNet
crawl
  1. n. a very slow movement; "the traffic advanced at a crawl"

  2. a swimming stroke; arms are moved alternately overhead accompanied by a flutter kick [syn: front crawl, Australian crawl]

  3. a slow creeping mode of locomotion (on hands and knees or dragging the body); "a crawl was all that the injured man could manage"; "the traffic moved at a creep" [syn: crawling, creep, creeping]

crawl
  1. v. move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground; "The crocodile was crawling along the riverbed" [syn: creep]

  2. feel as if crawling with insects; "My skin crawled--I was terrified"

  3. be crawling with; "The old cheese was crawling with maggots"

  4. show submission or fear [syn: fawn, creep, cringe, cower, grovel]

  5. swim by doing the crawl; "European children learn the breast stroke; they often don't know how to crawl"

Wikipedia
Crawl

Crawl or crawling may refer to:

  • Crawling (human), any of several types of human quadrupedal gait
  • Limbless locomotion, the movement of limbless animals over the ground
  • Undulatory locomotion, a type of motion characterized by wave-like movement patterns that act to propel an animal forward
  • Front crawl, a swimming stroke
  • News crawl or news ticker, a moving line of text on screen during TV news programs or in other contexts
  • Pub crawl, an evening devoted to drinking at a series of pubs
  • Dungeon crawl, a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games
  • Linley's Dungeon Crawl or Crawl, a 1997 roguelike computer game
    • Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, an ongoing open source fork of Linley's Dungeon Crawl
  • Crawl (video game), a 2014 roguelike indie video game
  • Web crawler, a software program to automatically download web pages
  • Rock crawling, an off-road truck sport
Crawl (Entombed EP)

Crawl is an EP by the Swedish death metal band Entombed. It was released in 1991 by Earache Records as an appetizer to the new album Clandestine. This EP featured Orvar Säfström from Nirvana 2002 on vocals.

Crawl (Atlas song)

"Crawl" is the first (commercially available) single from New Zealand rock band Atlas released in 2007. It was featured on their debut album Reasons for Voyaging. It is one of the most successful New Zealand rock songs of the 21st century, staying atop the charts for seven weeks.

Crawl (Kings of Leon song)

"Crawl" is a song by American rock band Kings of Leon, and the second track of their 2008 album Only by the Night. It was the first track to be premiered from the album, with the band offering it as a free download on their website for a short period of time. The song was voted number 70 in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2008 countdown. In late October 2009, it was released as a single in Canada and the United States.

It was released as downloadable content for the Rock Band music video game series on July 21, 2009.

Crawl (Laughing Hyenas EP)

Crawl is an EP by American noise rock band Laughing Hyenas, released on October 19, 1992 by Touch and Go Records.

Crawl (Childish Gambino song)

"Crawl" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Childish Gambino and features additional vocals from Kai and background vocals from Mystikal from his second studio album Because the Internet. The song was released on February 7, 2014 as the second official single from the album. It was produced by production duo Christian Rich and Gambino himself. The song has since peaked at number 86 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Crawl (Chris Brown song)

"Crawl" is a song by American recording artist Chris Brown. It is the second single from his third studio album Graffiti, released as a digital download on November 24, 2009. The song was produced by The Messengers and was written by Nasri Atweh, Adam Messinger, Luke Boyd, and Brown. The song is about yearning to rebuild a failed relationship and was interpreted by critics as being about Brown's former relationship with Barbadian singer Rihanna. However, Brown has stated the song is not about any of his previous relationships.

The song received positive to mixed reviews. It charted in the top twenty in Japan and New Zealand, and the top forty in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It peaked in the United States at number fifty-three. The accompanying music video features Brown and American R&B singer Cassie as his love interest. In the video, he yearns for their relationship on a winter night in a city and in a desert scene. Brown performed the song on his 2009 Fan Appreciation Tour, and on BET's SOS: Help for Haiti Telethon, which benefited victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Crawl (film)

Crawl is a 2011 Australian suspense-thriller written, produced and directed by Paul China and Benjamin China. The film is the China Brothers debut feature, and stars George Shevtsov, Georgina Haig and Paul Holmes.

Crawl (video game)

Crawl is a roguelike, brawler indie video game by Australian developer Powerhoof. Up to four players and bots in local multiplayer advance through randomly generated dungeons with one player as the hero and the others as ghosts who possess traps and monsters in the environment to kill and thus replace the hero. The game was released through Steam Early Access for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux platforms on August 6, 2014.

Usage examples of "crawl".

There was, in fact, a little more than a meter of space into which Eleana now crawled.

At last, he saw Adelaide, alive with rats, crawling out on to the settee.

As the FBI set up a command center in the ballroom of the Vista Hotel, and agents from the Bureau and ATF began to crawl through the crater to assess the massive damage, the authorities gave no order to hold or delay any flights departing for the Middle East.

The thought of federal agents crawling around the blast site under fire helmets was a bit much for some marshals, especially since all but two of them were officially excluded from the probe.

If it is warm weather, the Aleut will turn his skin skiff upside down, crawl into the hole head first and sleep there.

When pressed for room, the Aleut has been known to crawl head foremost, body whole, right under the manhole and lie there prone between the feet of the paddlers with nothing between him and the abysmal depths of a hissing sea but the parchment keel of the bidarka, thin as paper.

Would you have us abandon our great hopes, crawl back to the cluster, embrace our fatal allomorphic heritage, and go down to extinction as we exhaust the balance of our dwindling resources?

Leaden daylight, passing through the panes, speckled the room with the watery-gray shadows of the hundreds of beads that tracked down the glass, and Sam was so edgy that he could almost feel those small ameboid phantoms crawling over him.

Now, as the sun crawled above the horizon, Kamil ordered an entire company of his Amn Al-Khass commandos, along with one of his hunter units, to begin a systematic approach to the ISET team.

For there, side by side on the stone floor, are Agnes and the scullery-maid Janey, both with their backs to him and their arses in the air, crawling along on their hands and knees, dipping scrubbing-brushes by turns into a large pail of soapy water.

A bandy child, asquat on the doorstep with a paper shuttlecock, crawls sidling after her in spurts, clutches her skirt, scrambles up.

Kochi, the astrogeologist, had to crawl out of the cell to give herself room enough to stand.

As the Dutch astrophysicist began crawling around and underneath the contraption, Nash went to help Kawakami fold up the discarded shrouds.

Chari crawled over to Balthazar who sat in a chair in the center of the room.

Within the pack, Bart examined the worms of tension that crawled through his belly, leaving acid trails.