I. ˈkrȯl verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English crawlen, from Old Norse krafla to crawl, creep; akin to Old Norse krabbi crab — more at crab
intransitive verb
1. : to move or go slowly (as an insect, snake, turtle) with the body close to the ground : creep
2. : to move, progress, or advance slowly or laboriously : drag along
hardly able to crawl
the hours crawled by
tanks and amphibian tractors were crawling up on the beach — H.L.Merillat
3. : to advance servilely, abjectly, or furtively
crawl into favor
4. of plants : to spread by extending stems, branches, or tendrils : creep , trail
5.
a. : to be alive or swarming with or as if with a great number of creeping things
a kitchen crawling with ants
a living room crawling with bric-a-brac
b. : to have an unpleasant sensation as if insects were creeping over one : become unnaturally upset, perturbed, or anguished
his flesh was crawling with the need of alcohol — Eddie Doherty
6. : to swim a crawl
crawl across the pool in record time
7. : to fail to stay evenly spread : draw into puddles or dense areas — used of paint, varnish, glaze
transitive verb
1. : to move upon in or as if in a creeping manner
the meanest person who ever crawled the earth
2. slang : to reprove with severity
they got no good right to crawl me for what I wrote — Marjorie K. Rawlings
II. noun
( -s )
1.
a. : the act or action of crawling
a dangerous crawl up a roof
b. : slow or laborious motion or progress
will speed up the gluey crawl of the Sunday driver — Lewis Mumford
c. chiefly Britain : a leisurely progress from one bar to another — used usually in combination
beer crawl
2. : a prone speed swimming stroke consisting of a double overarm stroke combined with a flutter kick usually in a ratio of six leg kicks to two arm strokes — called also American crawl ; see australian crawl , trudgen crawl
3.
a. or crawl box : a revolving drum on which lettering can be affixed in producing creeper titles in motion pictures and television
b. : a group of titles rolled on crawl
4. : a pulley block that has sheaves that roll laterally along a rope and is used for transporting a suspended load
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Dutch kraal — more at kraal
: an enclosure (as one used in shallow waters to confine lobsters or turtles)
IV. noun
: lettering that moves vertically or horizontally across a television or movie screen to give information (as credits or news bulletins)