crawl — to move slowly on hands and knees or with the body close to the ground
Part of speech: VERB
Definition: to move slowly on hands and knees or with the body close to the ground
Pronunciation (IPA): /krɔːl/
Example Sentences
- My internet connection is so slow that web pages crawl like a sleepy snail.
- The spy had to crawl through the ventilation system to avoid detection.
- After the pizza party, the floor was crawling with ants looking for crumbs.
crawl
VERB[/krɔːl/]
to move slowly on hands and knees or with the body close to the ground
The baby starts to crawl across the living room rug toward the cat.
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
Originating in 14th-century Middle English, the word initially meant 'to scratch or scrape with a hook or claw'. Over time, the semantic field expanded to denote 'to move slowly on hands and knees or with the body close to the ground', and by the 20th century, it was adopted as the name of a competitive swimming stroke.
Breakdown
The word derives from Middle English crawlen, likely from Old Norse krauá or a cognate Scandinavian source. The base root carries the sense of 'scratch' or 'claw', which metaphorically extended to describe the grasping, clawing motion of movement close to the ground.
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“My internet connection is so slow that web pages crawl like a sleepy snail.”
“The spy had to crawl through the ventilation system to avoid detection.”
“After the pizza party, the floor was crawling with ants looking for crumbs.”
“Monday mornings make me want to crawl back under the covers and hibernate.”
📚Related Words
Synonyms
Antonyms
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