crawly
4
6.1
- adjective
- /ˈkrɔːli/
- Informal
:
insecto
- The old house was full of crawly creatures that scurried away when the lights came on.
- creepy-crawly
- crawly things
- crawly creatures
Examples
-
Kids love creepy crawly things, and a worm bin is an excellent way to indulge their love of all things ooky while teaching some valuable lessons about composting and reducing garbage.
Blog text (32) -
Lots of slimy, crawly bad things, Guy.
-
Creepy, crawly things in every corner.
-
Creepy, crawly, and always getting into places it's not wanted.
Fiction book (1990) -
"Soon I'll have insects and crawly things to eat again."
Fiction book (1997) -
On our nature walks we lifted rocks and peel back the bark of dead trees and looked at beetles and other crawly things.
-
Wow, how disgusting! I hate snails, slugs, and all crawly things.
Blog text (24) -
With chicken wire on the lower two feet, chickens can patrol the perimeter and snag the crawly bugs that are working their way to the garden.
Blog text (7) -
Saito seemed as nervous as Delores felt; she guessed she wasn't the only one who felt squeamish around crawly things.
Fiction book (1998) -
It was from Halloween, but it was called Creepy Crawly Critters and it had chocolate covered crickets and toasted mealworms in it.
Synonyms
2
6.0
Having holes or soft parts because worms have eaten it
1
3.8
Full of small insects like mosquitoes that bite or annoy you
1
6.4
Full of small white grubs that eat plant roots
Full of small flying insects
Having small biting insects called ticks on it
A place that has many mice
Clothes or fabric that have holes made by small insects
Antonyms
Compounds
How Infested
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word crawly comes from the verb crawl ('to move on hands or belly') plus the ending -y ('full of'). Think of a log 'full of' little creatures that crawl, which is why crawly means covered with small insects or worms.