crawls 1 of 2

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

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2
3
4
as in bursts
to be copiously supplied something must be up, as city hall is crawling with reporters

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

crawls

2 of 2

noun

plural of crawl

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 crawls
Verb
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 Walking between Valmiermuiža, Labietis, Taka, and Nurme makes for one of the easiest and most enjoyable beer crawls in Europe. Jim Dobson, Forbes.com, 16 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 The Shops at Yale recently announced the return of the New Haven food crawls and have added a date in December, according to a statement. Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 18 Mar. 2026 On Polymarket’s tab for Bitcoin, a line graph crawls along like a seismograph, showing the price to beat as the total cost fluctuates by hundreds of dollars a second. Joe Wilkins Published Mar 18, Futurism, 18 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crawls
Verb
  • This is where over-reliance creeps in.
    Gregory Lipich, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
  • Hesitation creeps in, options narrow and teams begin playing within themselves.
    Rick Burton, Sportico.com, 18 May 2026
Verb
  • Congress is struggling to meet a fast-approaching deadline to extend a key government spying law, potentially jeopardizing national security as the Iran war drags on.
    Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 10 June 2026
  • While Washington drags its feet, kids across the nation are being exposed to vile, pornographic images and ads with no meaningful safeguards to prevent it.
    Rachel del Guidice, FOXNews.com, 10 June 2026
Verb
  • The decaying matter causes a stench that lingers for days.
    Joan Murray, CBS News, 10 June 2026
  • Cleaning out your fridge will remove the source of the odor, but the scent lingers.
    Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 4 June 2026
Verb
  • Haaland bursts our bubble almost immediately by scoring in the opening five minutes, and Burnley miss a few good first-half chances, with striker Zian Flemming particularly culpable.
    Nnamdi Onyeagwara, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2026
  • The 60-year immigration bubble finally bursts.
    , FOXNews.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Emergency physicians do not control inpatient staffing, discharge bottlenecks, rehabilitation placement delays, or bed availability, yet emergency departments absorb the consequences when hospitals operate beyond capacity.
    Letters to the Editor, Hartford Courant, 6 June 2026
  • Another project will cause intermittent traffic breaks near Boca during the day Tuesday through Thursday, causing motorists to undergo delays of up to 30 minutes.
    Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 6 June 2026
Verb
  • The River Caqueta snakes nearly 1,800 miles into the heart of the Amazon rainforest.
    Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 27 May 2026
  • The plaster, cave-like living room (complete with a cozy fireplace) served as a backdrop for trivia night; the ice-cold creek, which snakes along the five-acre property, was our personal swimming spot to chase off the heat of the day.
    Aemilia Madden, Vogue, 27 May 2026
Verb
  • At the sound of morning prayers, an older Clarissa awakens from this dream and shuffles out to her lawn, where the leafy bush has been replaced with the industrial skyline of Lagos.
    Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 16 May 2026
  • Tristan returns home and greets James while Siegfried shuffles the woman out the window.
    Alice Burton, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • In it, Grace can be seen playing a racing game while the Mallrats creator pokes fun at her driving skills.
    Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 1 June 2026
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander apparently isn’t amused by a new board game that pokes fun at the Oklahoma City Thunder star’s reputation for garnering foul calls at the hint of contact by an opposing player.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Crawls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crawls. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.

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