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

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2
as in drags
to move slowly the weekend traffic on the road to the beach just crawled

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in lingers
to move or act slowly the deadline is fast approaching, so this is no time to crawl

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in bursts
to be copiously supplied something must be up, as city hall is crawling with reporters

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

crawls

2 of 2

noun

plural of crawl
as in delays

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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
There’s also a less than 10% chance of showers, if one of the hurricanes crawls farther up the coast, according to Wofford. — Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026 Hairy-nosed wombat births are hard to spot, as after about a 30-day pregnancy, the joey crawls into its mother’s pouch. — Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 16 Aug. 2026 Researchers have developed a new control framework that enables humanoid robots to perform agile movements, including army crawls, breakdancing and backflips. — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026 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 Leclerc crawls through the long right-hand Turn 12, where Lindblad moves ahead again. — Alex Kalinauckas, New York Times, 11 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crawls
  1. creeps
  2. drags
  3. lingers
  4. bursts
  5. delays
  6. snakes
  7. shuffles
  8. pokes
Verb
  • The tone creeps into despair as the scales fall from Sutskever’s eyes.
    — E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Rain creeps back into the forecast by the middle of next week, when the tides are expected to be closer to normal.
    — Alex Harris Updated September 27, Miami Herald, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of creeps
Verb
  • Republicans have expressed growing pessimism about their chances in the election, which will determine control of Congress, as the president has repeatedly dismissed concerns about high costs and gas prices as his unpopular war in Iran drags on.
    — MICHELLE L. PRICE, Arkansas Online, 2 Oct. 2026
  • In it, a botched secret mission drags Eken Babu into a mystery in Kerala.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of drags
Verb
  • If a strange new scent appears or concern lingers, Harvard Health advises talking to a doctor.
    — Samantha Agate, Sacbee.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • In the scene, Simon’s family speaks Kreyòl — although to varying degrees of proficiency — and the camera lingers on the Haitian feast presented on the table.
    — Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of lingers
Verb
  • In these moments, the actor bursts through his roles as the Spider does through Reilly, unleashing the Grand Guignol excess that is Nicolas Cage.
    — Harmon Siegel, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Things quickly take a terrifying turn during surgery when a scorpion tail suddenly bursts through Perry’s back, attacking one of the surgeons mid-operation.
    — Lily Brown, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026
Definition of bursts
Noun
  • Public opposition has already impacted around $42 billion of data center investments in Europe, in account delays and cancellations, according to research from STL Partners.
    — April Roach,Jenny Lee, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2026
  • However, delays in actual delivery have meant that only the first batch has been delivered this year.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of delays
Verb
  • The new district snakes up through Kansas City’s urban core, in an attempt to create a district more favorable for Republicans in the 5th District.
    — Jack Harvel July 28, Kansas City Star, 28 July 2026
  • The story of McCarthy’s life was written on this winding street that snakes through a small, working-class corner of Pittsburgh where the Monongahela River bends.
    — Mike DeFabo, New York Times, 27 July 2026
Definition of snakes
Verb
  • My brother looks at the floor, mumbles something, and then shuffles away from the table.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026
  • The line shuffles forward quickly, and my heart knots in my chest as Heartfillers are dosed to each person up ahead.
    — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of shuffles
Verb
  • And yet there’s this piece in the policy which pokes its head [and forces them to find a surrogate in Texas].
    — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The International Kazoo Championship pokes a little fun at the rigidity of the main stage.
    — David Alm, Longreads, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of pokes

Browse Nearby Words

crawling
crawls
crawlway
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Cite this Entry

“Crawls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crawls. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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