Synonyms of crawl

crawl 1 of 2

verb

ˈkrȯl 

1

as in to creep

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

• creep
• snake
• slide
• slither
• worm
• wriggle
• tiptoe
• sneak
• grovel
• crouch
• belly
• squat
• steal
• edge
• inch
• skulk
• nose

2

as in to drag

to move slowly

the weekend traffic on the road to the beach just crawled

Synonyms & Similar Words

• drag
• creep
• poke
• shuffle
• snail
• limp
• ooze
• slouch
• inch
• plod
• nose
• creak (along)
• trudge
• shamble
• tramp
• lumber

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• race
• fly
• speed
• float
• glide
• sail
• whizz
• zip
• whiz
• tear
• hurry

3

as in to delay

to move or act slowly

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• delay
• drag
• poke
• linger
• creep
• stroll
• play
• loiter
• shuffle
• dawdle
• fall behind
• stall
• lag
• mope
• hang fire
• drop behind
• mark time
• lounge
• diddle
• lollygag
• stagger
• lallygag
• tarry
• drag one's heels
• saunter
• take one's time
• idle
• drag one's feet
• dillydally
• amble
• dally
• shilly-shally
• fiddle (around)
• fool around
• hang (around or out)
• trifle
• decelerate
• putter (around)
• loll
• potter (around)
• mess around
• loaf
• monkey (around)
• inch
• ease
• slow (down or up)
• plod
• temporize
• procrastinate
• lumber
• filibuster

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fly
• run
• race
• tear
• scurry
• course
• speed
• rush
• hurry
• rip
• hasten
• scoot
• career
• rocket
• dash
• whirl
• breeze
• zip
• bolt
• whisk
• run
• scramble
• barrel
• dart
• hurtle
• hump
• hustle
• jog
• trot
• accelerate
• stampede
• gallop
• whiz
• whizz
• sprint
• scud
• quicken
• hotfoot (it)
• speed (up)
• overtake
• bowl
• catch up
• outrun
• outpace
• outstrip
• fast-forward

4

as in to burst

to be copiously supplied

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• burst
• buzz
• bulge
• hum
• swarm
• teem
• abound
• pullulate
• overflow
• brim
• bristle
• bustle

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• want
• need
• lack

crawl

2 of 2

noun

as in delay

Synonyms & Similar Words

• delay
• traffic
• slowdown
• stoppage
• congestion
• lock
• gridlock
• tangle
• snarl
• bottleneck
• jam
• jam-up
• backup
• logjam
• tailback
• tie-up

Examples of crawl in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Wake up chilly and crawl back in bed beside D.’s warm, comforting presence. —R29 Team, refinery29.com, 11 Oct. 2024

One more loss, and more than a billion dollars is bloodied and bruised and crawling into winter. —Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2024

Noun

Cover your head and neck with your arms and crawl underneath a sturdy table or desk to shelter. —Charles Ventura, USA TODAY, 7 Aug. 2024

Unlike previous crawls spread out over multiple weekends, this fall's event will pack all the activities into three days. —Audrey Kennedy, Axios, 3 Oct. 2024

Phrases Containing crawl

• make one's flesh crawl