Crawling
/ˈkrɔːlɪŋ/
Definitions
3 meaningsTo move slowly on your hands and knees or by dragging your body along the ground.
/ˈkrɔːlɪŋ/
Moving slowly on hands and knees or on the belly.
The baby is learning to crawl.
💡 Simply: Imagine a baby trying to get to a toy, or someone moving very slowly on the ground. That's crawling. Like when you're stuck in traffic and moving super slow!
👶 For kids: Moving on your hands and knees, like a baby!
More Examples
The injured soldier crawled to safety.
We had to crawl under the barbed wire.
How It's Used
"The baby is crawling across the living room."
"Soldiers crawled through the mud during the training exercise."
To move or proceed very slowly.
/ˈkrɔːlɪŋ/
To move very slowly.
The traffic was crawling during rush hour.
💡 Simply: When things are moving really, really slowly. Like when you’re in a traffic jam and you're barely moving. The line at the DMV is also often described as crawling.
👶 For kids: Moving super, super slow, like a snail!
More Examples
The project is crawling along, but we're making progress.
The web crawler is designed to crawl through many different websites.
How It's Used
"Traffic was crawling along the highway after the accident."
"The web crawler is crawling the internet looking for information."
To be covered or infested with something, often a large number of small creatures or things.
/ˈkrɔːlɪŋ/
To be covered with something that is moving.
The floor was crawling with ants.
💡 Simply: When something is covered with a lot of moving creatures or things, often making you feel uneasy. Imagine a nightmare of something crawling all over you.
👶 For kids: When something is covered with lots of bugs!
More Examples
My skin was crawling when I saw the spider.
The forest floor was crawling with wildlife.
How It's Used
"The walls were crawling with insects."
"His skin was crawling with fear."
From Middle English *creulen*, *crawlen*, from Old English *crāwian* ('to crow, cry, or call'), from Proto-Germanic *krawōjaną* ('to call, cry'). The sense of moving slowly on hands and knees or on the belly developed later.
Historically, 'crawling' was used to describe various forms of slow movement or being covered by numerous small creatures or things, evolving from its Old English roots.
Memory tip
Imagine a baby reaching for a toy – they're crawling!