crawl
Pronunciation: (krôl), [key]
— v.i.
- 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.
- (of plants or vines) to extend tendrils; creep.
- 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.
- to behave in a remorseful, abject, or cringing manner: Don't come crawling back to me asking for favors.
- to be, or feel as if, overrun with crawling things: The hut crawled with lizards and insects.
- (of a glaze) to spread unevenly over the surface of a piece.
- (of paint) to raise or contract because of an imperfect bond with the underlying surface.
—v.t.
- to visit or frequent a series of (esp. bars): to crawl the neighborhood pubs.
—n.
- act of crawling; a slow, crawling motion.
- a slow pace or rate of progress: Traffic slowed to a crawl.
- a stroke in a prone position, characterized by alternate overarm movements combined with the flutter kick.
- titles that slowly move across a screen, providing information.
crawl
Pronunciation: (krôl), [key]
— n. Chiefly South Atlantic States.
- an enclosure in shallow water on the seacoast, as for confining fish, turtles, etc.: a crab crawl.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.