to crawl

Examples

• All

• That's the way to get Bill to come crawling back to you.

  Hope Floats (1998)

• Margot had the distinct feeling that she wanted to crawl into a corner and be quietly sick.

  Fiction book (1999)

• Look who came crawling back.

  Shooting Stars (2023)

• I was afraid he would crawl back out the door and disappear.

  Fiction book (1998)

• But she doesn't have to crawl in a hole and die just because she had kids.

• After the meeting, he tried to crawl back into his boss's good graces by apologizing profusely.

• In a desperate attempt to avoid punishment, she decided to crawl to her parents for forgiveness.

• The politician will often crawl to influential donors to secure their support for his campaign.

Synonyms

G

to grovel

vsto crawl

42 7.4

Behave like you are begging or crawling to get someone's forgiveness

is submissive out of fear or to gain favor without physical acts

F

to fawn

vsto crawl

25 7.7

Act very friendly and praise someone to gain their favor

is submissive to gain favor but focuses on humility not flattery

B

to bow and scrape

vsto crawl

• Archaic

3 9.4

Behave too politely and humbly to please someone

is submissive mainly to win approval rather than from fear

Antonyms

S

to stand up

293 3.2

To defend yourself when someone treats you unfairly

A

to assert

229 3.9

To clearly and firmly say your needs or opinions

Idioms

C

to crawl before you walk

1 5.0

To start with simple tasks before trying harder ones

M

to make someone's skin crawl

• Informal

7.4

Cause a strong feeling of fear or disgust with a creepy physical feeling

Phrasal Verbs

C

to crawl with

42 5.1

To be full of many animals or people, often in an unpleasant way

C

to crawl in

• Informal

3 3.3

To go to bed slowly because you feel very tired

C

to crawl over each other

1 3.4

Move over each other on hands and knees, often playfully

B

to begin to crawl

1 2.8

Start to move or make progress very slowly after being faster

P

to pub-crawl

• Informal

7.4

To visit several pubs in one night, drinking at each one

Compounds

C

crawl space

• Specialized

15 5.7

A low narrow space under the main floor of a building that people use to reach pipes and wires

P

pub crawl

• Informal

4 6.8

A group visiting several pubs or bars and having a drink at each

F

front crawl

1 3.7

A swimming stroke done face down where arms move alternately over the water and legs kick

A

Australian crawl

• Specialized

1 4.6

A swimming stroke where the arms move one after the other above the water and the legs kick fast

T

turtle-crawl approach

• Informal

8.2

A very slow way of doing something that wastes time

How Submissive

to kowtow

12 9.2

to grovel

42 7.4

to crawl

90 7.0

to defer

• Formal

36 6.2

to flatter

100 3.6

Surface Forms

Etymology