Synonyms of crawls

crawls 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of crawl

1

as in creeps

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

• creeps
• snakes
• slides
• slithers
• worms
• wriggles
• crouches
• sneaks
• tiptoes
• grovels
• squats
• bellies
• steals
• inches
• edges
• skulks
• noses

2

as in drags

to move slowly

the weekend traffic on the road to the beach just crawled

Synonyms & Similar Words

• drags
• creeps
• shuffles
• pokes
• limps
• oozes
• slouches
• inches
• creaks (along)
• plods
• noses
• snails
• trudges
• lumbers
• shambles
• tramps

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• races
• speeds
• flies
• floats
• glides
• zips
• tears
• whizzes
• sails
• hurries

3

as in lingers

to move or act slowly

the deadline is fast approaching, so this is no time to crawl

Synonyms & Similar Words

• drags
• lingers
• pokes
• delays
• strolls
• creeps
• loiters
• shuffles
• dawdles
• lags
• plays
• falls behind
• mopes
• diddles
• hangs fire
• marks time
• stalls
• drops behind
• staggers
• tarries
• dallies
• lollygags
• lounges
• saunters
• idles
• drags one's feet
• ambles
• dillydallies
• takes one's time
• shilly-shallies
• putters (around)
• fiddles (around)
• loafs
• lolls
• potters (around)
• fools around
• inches
• hangs (around or out)
• decelerates
• lumbers
• messes around
• eases
• plods
• monkeys (around)
• slows (down or up)
• procrastinates
• trifles
• temporizes
• filibusters

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• runs
• rushes
• scurries
• flies
• tears
• hurries
• rips
• speeds
• barrels
• scoots
• races
• hastens
• courses
• whirls
• zips
• dashes
• whizzes
• whisks
• careers
• scrambles
• hurtles
• bolts
• runs
• rockets
• darts
• hustles
• scuds
• bowls
• humps
• jogs
• trots
• breezes
• gallops
• stampedes
• accelerates
• sprints
• quickens
• hotfoots (it)
• speeds (up)
• overtakes
• outruns
• outstrips
• outpaces
• catches up
• fast-forwards

4

as in bursts

to be copiously supplied

something must be up, as city hall is crawling with reporters

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bursts
• buzzes
• hums
• bulges
• abounds
• teems
• bustles
• swarms
• brims
• overflows
• bristles
• pullulates

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• needs
• wants
• lacks

crawls

2 of 2

noun

plural of crawl

as in delays

Related Words

• delays
• traffic
• slowdowns
• stoppages
• locks
• congestions
• snarls
• tangles
• gridlocks
• bottlenecks
• jams
• jam-ups
• backups
• logjams
• tailbacks
• tie-ups

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of crawls

Verb

Markets do not hold still for a year and a half while your deal crawls through due diligence. — Lien De Pau, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026

Footage of the moment shows Menitoff acting as if nothing is happening as the bug crawls on her. — Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 16 July 2026

Seltz’s system crawls hundreds of millions of pages a day, and returns results in under 200 milliseconds. — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 24 June 2026

At sunset, the city starts glowing around you while traffic crawls silently below. — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 28 May 2026

Critics on the Croisette are starting to resemble that classic comic-strip panel in which an explorer crawls desperately across the sand toward an oasis that’s only a mirage. — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 19 May 2026

Leclerc crawls through the long right-hand Turn 12, where Lindblad moves ahead again. — Alex Kalinauckas, New York Times, 11 May 2026

Think about how often your toddler crawls near the dog bed or your kids toss pet toys around the living room. — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Apr. 2026

In the book, Grace drags Rocky back to his part of the ship, exposing himself to the Eridian environment; in the film, Rocky crawls back while Grace is unconscious. — Matthew Razak, Space.com, 23 Mar. 2026