crawling

Verb

crawl (third-person singular simple present crawls, present participle crawling, simple past and past participle crawled)

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!

   Synonyms:

   kowtow, grovel

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

See all 17 meanings of crawl