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crawl

 - 5 dictionary results
Baby Crawling
When Will Your Baby Crawl? What If Your Baby Doesn't Start Crawling
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crawl

1  [krawl]
Use crawl in a Sentence
–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 (esp. 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; ME crawlen < ON krafla; cf. Dan kravle to crawl, creep

Related forms:
crawl⋅ing⋅ly, 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.
Baby Crawling
When Will Your Baby Crawl? What If Your Baby Doesn't Start Crawling
www.Parents.com

crawl

2  [krawl]
–noun Chiefly South Atlantic States.
an enclosure in shallow water on the seacoast, as for confining fish, turtles, etc.: a crab crawl.
Origin:
1650–60; < D kraal < Sp corral corral; cf. kraal
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To crawl
crawl 1   (krôl)   
intr.v.   crawled, crawl·ing, crawls

  1. To move slowly on the hands and knees or by dragging the body along the ground; creep.

  2. To advance slowly, feebly, laboriously, or with frequent stops: We crawled along until we reached the open road.

  3. To proceed or act servilely.

  4. To be or feel as if swarming or covered with moving things: The accident scene was crawling with police officers. My flesh crawled in horror. See Synonyms at teem1.

  5. To swim the crawl.

n.  

  1. The action of moving slowly on the hands or knees or dragging the body along the ground.

  2. An extremely slow pace: Traffic was moving at a crawl.

  3. Sports A rapid swimming stroke consisting of alternating overarm strokes and a flutter kick.

  4. A set of letters or figures that move across, up, or down a movie or television screen, usually giving information, such as film credits or weather alerts.


[Middle English craulen, from Old Norse krafla; see gerbh- in Indo-European roots.]
crawl'ing·ly adv.
crawl 2   (krôl)   
n.  A pen in shallow water, as for confining fish or turtles.

[Afrikaans kraal, enclosure for animals; see kraal.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

crawl 
c.1200, crewlen, from a Scand. source, perhaps O.N. krafla "to claw (one's way)." If there was an O.E. *craflian, it has not been recorded. Swimming sense is 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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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