crawl

Meaning

Verb

1. To creep; to move slowly on hands and knees, or by dragging the body along the ground.
2. To move forward slowly, with frequent stops.
3. To act in a servile manner.
4. Followed by with: see crawl with.
5. To feel a swarming sensation.
6. To swim using the crawl stroke.
7. To move over (an area) on hands and knees.
8. To move over (an area) slowly, with frequent stops.
9. To visit files or web sites in order to index them for searching.

Noun

1. The act of moving slowly on hands and knees, etc.
2. The act of sequentially visiting a series of similar establishments (i.e., a bar crawl).
3. A rapid swimming stroke with alternate overarm strokes and a fluttering kick.
4. A very slow pace.
5. A piece of horizontally or vertically scrolling text overlaid on the main image.

Noun

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

Pronounced as (IPA)

/kɹɔːl/

Etymology

From Middle English crawlen, crewlen, creulen, crallen, *cravelen, from Old Norse krafla (compare Danish kravle (“to crawl, creep”), Swedish kravla, kräla)), from Proto-Germanic *krablōną (compare Dutch krabbelen, German Low German krabbeln, German krabbeln), frequentative of *krabbōną (“to scratch, scrape”). Compare also West Frisian kreauwelje (“to crawl”), Dutch krevelen, krieuwelen (“to crawl”), German Low German kribbeln, German kribbeln (“to creep, crawl, tingle”). See also crab, crabble.