crawl

/kɹɔːl/

//kɹɔːl// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"crawl" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“crawl” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,026. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,026
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To creep; to move slowly on hands and knees, or by dragging the body along the ground.

Corpus desk

Index EN-crawl · crawl · English

crawl · rank #10,026 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,026
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Cornwall

Nearest frequency peer: Cornwall (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “crawl”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “crawl” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

crawl vs crew
60% similar
crawl vs crow
60% similar
crawl vs cray
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for crawl
PropertyValue
Headwordcrawl
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/kɹɔːl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#10,026
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “crawl”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).crawllands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Cornwall” (#10,025), “credible” (#10,027), “continuity” (#10,024). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “crawl” is #10,026. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around crawl (IPA /kɹɔːl/), averb. Corpus frequency is #10,026 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for crawl, with forms such as "carwl", "ccrawl", and "cralw". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "crew", "crow", "cray", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English crawlen, crewlen, creulen, crallen, *cravelen, from Old Norse krafla (compare Danish kravle (“to crawl, creep”), Swedish kravla, kräla (“to creep, crawl”)), from Proto-Germanic *krablōną (compare Saterland Frisian krabbelje, Dutch krabbe… The correct English form is crawl, spelled C-R-A-W-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    To creep; to move slowly on hands and knees, or by dragging the body along the ground.
  2. 2
    To move forward slowly, with frequent stops.
  3. 3
    To act in a servile manner.
  4. 4
    Followed by with: see crawl with.
  5. 5
    To feel a swarming sensation.
  6. 6
    To swim using the crawl stroke.
  7. 7
    To move over (an area) on hands and knees.
  8. 8
    To move over (an area) slowly, with frequent stops.
  9. 9
    To visit files or web sites in order to index them for searching.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how crawl appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Clutching my wounded side, I crawled back to the trench.
  2. A VVorm finds vvhat it ſearches after, only by Feeling, as it cravvls from one thing to another. VVhereas a Man, having Eyes, ſees it in a Moment, all before him.

Etymology

From Middle English crawlen, crewlen, creulen, crallen, *cravelen, from Old Norse krafla (compare Danish kravle (“to crawl, creep”), Swedish kravla, kräla (“to creep, crawl”)), from Proto-Germanic *krablōną (compare Saterland Frisian krabbelje, Dutch krabbelen, German Low German krabbeln, German krabbeln), frequentative of *krabbōną (“to scratch, scrape”). Compare also Saterland Frisian krauelje (“to crawl, scuttle”), West Frisian kreauwelje (“to crawl”), Dutch krevelen, krieuwelen (“to crawl”), German Low German kribbeln, German kribbeln (“to creep, crawl, tingle”). See also crab, crabble.

Synonyms

creepinchplodscuttlewriggle

Antonyms

runwalksprintlope

This word in other languages

arrastrarse(Español)ramper(Français)kriechen(Deutsch)reptar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • carwl
  • ccrawl
  • cralw
  • crawll
  • crawwl
  • crrawl
  • crwal
  • rcawl

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of crawl - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

carwl2ccrawl1cralw2crawll1crawwl1crrawl1crwal2rcawl2
Edit distance from "crawl"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "crawl"?
"crawl" is spelled C-R-A-W-L. The IPA pronunciation is /kɹɔːl/.
What does "crawl" mean?
As a verb, "crawl" means: To creep; to move slowly on hands and knees, or by dragging the body along the ground.
What words are commonly confused with "crawl"?
"crawl" is commonly confused with "crew", "crow", "cray". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "crawl"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "crawl" is /kɹɔːl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "crawl"?
From Middle English crawlen, crewlen, creulen, crallen, *cravelen, from Old Norse krafla (compare Danish kravle (“to crawl, creep”), Swedish kravla, kräla (“to creep, crawl”)), from Proto-Germanic *krablōną (compare Saterland Frisian krabbelje, Du... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "crawl", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

digit#10,036flint#10,049bravo#10,002Worms#9,988

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

antenna8 variantsUganda8 variantstenant8 variantsmemoir8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list