as in leisurely
moving or proceeding at less than the normal, desirable, or required speed
the crawling pace of the narrative is really frustrating
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in creeping
to move slowly with the body close to the ground
the time we had to crawl through a narrow passageway from one cave to another
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in dragging
to move slowly
the weekend traffic on the road to the beach just crawled
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in poking
to move or act slowly
the deadline is fast approaching, so this is no time to crawl
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of crawling
Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
Amazon has already taken steps in recent months to prevent external AI agents from crawling its website, including those developed by OpenAI, Google and Meta.
—Ashley Capoot,annie Palmer, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2025
Creatures crawling out of gunk, their legs extending, their toe-webs rescinding, amoebic eyes getting harder.
—Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
There are many options when looking for gifts for 7-year-olds, but some of my favorites include the viral wall-crawling gecko, the classic Bop It, and a scary-cool blind-box doll set.
—Anja Webb, Parents, 31 Oct. 2025
This 2022 Netflix original documentary will have your skin crawling.
—Emy Lacroix, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
No one enjoys finding moths fluttering around the flour or tiny caterpillars crawling in the cereal.
—Lauren Wicks, Southern Living, 28 Oct. 2025
On Monday morning, the monster storm was crawling forward at only 3 mph.
—Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 27 Oct. 2025
The adjustable cords along the bottom cuffs even keep bugs from crawling up your calves.
—Katie Jackson, Travel + Leisure, 26 Oct. 2025
Verb
His fur was singed and bitten, his arm broken, and his mouth crawling with maggots.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
Amazon has already taken steps in recent months to prevent external AI agents from crawling its website, including those developed by OpenAI, Google and Meta.
—Ashley Capoot,annie Palmer, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2025
Creatures crawling out of gunk, their legs extending, their toe-webs rescinding, amoebic eyes getting harder.
—Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
There are many options when looking for gifts for 7-year-olds, but some of my favorites include the viral wall-crawling gecko, the classic Bop It, and a scary-cool blind-box doll set.
—Anja Webb, Parents, 31 Oct. 2025
This 2022 Netflix original documentary will have your skin crawling.
—Emy Lacroix, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
No one enjoys finding moths fluttering around the flour or tiny caterpillars crawling in the cereal.
—Lauren Wicks, Southern Living, 28 Oct. 2025
On Monday morning, the monster storm was crawling forward at only 3 mph.
—Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 27 Oct. 2025
The adjustable cords along the bottom cuffs even keep bugs from crawling up your calves.
—Katie Jackson, Travel + Leisure, 26 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crawling
Adjective
-
While the original line was built for industry, pleasure excursions resumed 59 years ago, allowing visitors to experience the same scenic route at a more leisurely pace.—
Kristine Hansen,
Travel + Leisure,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Kayaking - While kayaking can be a leisurely activity, strong currents or capsizing can require emergency services, especially in more remote locations like sea caves.—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Domestically, the president is also navigating creeping inflation that is threatening his party’s prospects in the midterm elections, with Democrats staking their return to power on fears of an affordability crisis.—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
31 Oct. 2025
-
But with Neo stepping into the household and taking on labor like housekeeping, job-seekers may have to compete with AI innovations creeping into the blue-collar world.—
Jessica Coacci,
Fortune,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The latest downdraft could pull bitcoin deeper into the red, dragging the token more enduringly below the $100,000 support level, according to the analyst.—
Liz Napolitano,
CNBC,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Video shows one agent restraining the man, then dragging him around as another agent helps pin him to the ground.—
Zoe Sottile,
CNN Money,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
This isn’t Lovato’s first time poking fun at the meme.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Or use your finger, poking it about 2 inches into the soil.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
City soon claimed the blueprint as their own, bursting through on goal on four occasions after sweeping moves.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Plant sugars usually concentrate in plant leaves and roots and act as a sort of natural anti-freeze that keeps plant cells from bursting in the cold.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Tiles also exhibited hysteresis, which was smaller at slower speeds due to the rubber’s viscoelastic properties, as reported by Nanowerk.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Nov. 2025
-
Levi, an electrical engineer who founded MicroKits in 2020, has had to raise prices, slow production and pause plans to launch a new product – Banan-a-Synth – that lets kids turn a bunch of bananas into a kind of keyboard.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Or are the Seminoles at risk of sliding into irrelevance if trips to the Gator Bowl become acceptable?—
Matt Baker,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
-
There, people held the bus with their hands to keep it from sliding down to the next tier.—
Ryan Knighton,
AFAR Media,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The technology included corrupt automatic shuffling machines that read cards and predicted which player had the best hand.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Card-reading contact lenses, X-ray poker tables, trays of poker chips that read cards, hacked shuffling machines that predict hands.—
Rob Wile,
NBC news,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Crawling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crawling. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share