Main Entry:

¹crawl

Pronunciation:

\ˈkrȯl\

Function:

verb

Etymology:

Middle English, from Old Norse krafla

Date:

14th century

intransitive verb1: to move slowly in a prone position without or as if without the use of limbs <the snake crawled into its hole>2: to move or progress slowly or laboriously <traffic crawls along at 10 miles an hour>3: to advance by guile or servility <crawling into favor by toadying to his boss>4: to spread by extending stems or tendrils <a crawling vine>5 a: to be alive or swarming with or as if with creeping things <a kitchen crawling with ants> b: to have the sensation of insects creeping over one <the story made her flesh crawl>6: to fail to stay evenly spread —used of paint, varnish, or glazetransitive verb1: to move upon in or as if in a creeping manner <all the creatures that crawl the earth>2: to reprove harshly <they got no good right to crawl me for what I wrote — Marjorie K. Rawlings>