crawling

IPA/krɔːl/
KK[krˈɔlɪŋ]IPA/krɑːl/

crawling — 動詞

  • crawlingpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • crawlings3rd person singular
  • crawlinging-ing form
  • crawlingedpast simple

1. moving forward on your hands and knees, with your body held low and close to the

1.動詞不及物A2
釋義

爬行

用手腳或腹部貼地移動

moving forward on your hands and knees, with your body held low and close to the ground

例句

The baby crawled across the living-room rug to reach her toy.

寶寶爬過客廳的地毯，去拿她的玩具。

crawl + across: moving over a surface on hands and knees

Walid crawled under the desk to find the pen he had dropped.

Walid 爬到桌子底下找他掉落的筆。

同義詞
  • creep

    moves more quietly and carefully, often trying not to be seen

  • scramble

    moves quickly and with more urgency, less controlled than crawling

反義詞
  • stride

    walks with long, confident steps

  • sprint

    runs at top speed

文法句型

crawl + adverb/preposition phrase (across, under, through, into)

用法筆記

The most basic, concrete meaning of crawl. Distinguish from verb/2, which describes slow movement of vehicles, queues, or the passage of time rather than a person or animal moving on the ground.

常見錯誤

❌The traffic crawled through the narrow street.' (when describing a baby moving).
✅The baby crawled through the narrow gap.
💡Use verb/1 only for a person or animal moving on the ground; for slow traffic or time, use verb/2.

2. moving ahead at an extremely slow speed, as if every bit of progress requires gr

2.動詞不及物B1
釋義

緩慢移動

車輛或時間極慢地前進

moving ahead at an extremely slow speed, as if every bit of progress requires great effort

例句

The heavy truck crawled up the steep hill with its load of bricks.

那輛載滿磚塊的重型卡車緩緩爬上陡峭的山坡。

traffic crawled: describing a slow-moving vehicle

Traffic crawled through the city centre during the Friday rush hour.

週五尖峰時段，車流在市中心緩慢移動。

同義詞
  • inch

    moves in very small, gradual steps forward

  • creep

    moves slowly, but often with a sense of quiet or stealth

反義詞
  • race

    moves very fast

  • fly

    passes very quickly, especially of time

文法句型

traffic/time + crawls + adverb

crawl + along/by/forward

用法筆記

Often used with traffic, queues, or the passage of time as the subject. Unlike verb/1, the subject is rarely a person moving on the ground — it is typically a vehicle, a line of people, or an abstract idea like time.

常見錯誤

❌The baby crawled through the afternoon.
✅The afternoon crawled by while the baby slept.
💡Verb/2 works with time or traffic, not a person as the moving subject.

3. acting with too much eagerness to please someone powerful, hoping to gain an adv

3.動詞不及物B2
釋義

巴結；討好

為得好處而過度討好有權勢者

acting with too much eagerness to please someone powerful, hoping to gain an advantage for yourself

例句

Beatrix refused to crawl to the manager just to get a better schedule.

Beatrix 拒絕為了換到更好的班表而去巴結經理。

crawl to + [person]: pattern for seeking favour from someone in power

Some employees crawl to the boss with compliments, hoping for a promotion.

有些員工對老闆百般討好、滿口讚美，希望獲得升遷。

同義詞
  • grovel

    stronger, implies more humiliation and loss of dignity

  • fawn

    focuses on giving excessive praise, not necessarily seeking a specific advantage

反義詞
  • defy

    openly refuses to obey or show respect

文法句型

crawl to + [person in authority]

用法筆記

Always negative and disapproving. The typical pattern is 'crawl to + [person with power].' Distinguish from verb/1 and verb/2, which are neutral descriptions of movement.

常見錯誤

❌He crawled the director for a role.
✅He crawled to the director for a role.
💡The pattern is always 'crawl to someone,' never 'crawl someone' without 'to.'

4. being so full of moving creatures or things that the whole surface seems alive w

4.動詞不及物B2
釋義

充斥；滿布

某處滿是移動的人或生物

being so full of moving creatures or things that the whole surface seems alive with them

例句

The old kitchen was crawling with ants after someone left jam on the counter.

舊廚房裡滿是螞蟻，因為有人把果醬留在流理臺上。

was crawling with: pattern for being full of moving things

By noon the beach was crawling with families and their colourful towels.

到了中午，海灘上滿是家庭遊客和五顏六色的毛巾。

同義詞
  • teem

    more neutral, often used positively (teeming with life, ideas)

  • swarm

    focuses on large numbers moving together in one direction

反義詞

文法句型

[place] is crawling with + [plural noun]

用法筆記

Nearly always appears in the progressive form 'be crawling with.' The subject is a place or surface, never a person. The things doing the 'crawling' (insects, people, errors) follow the preposition 'with.'

常見錯誤

❌The kitchen crawled of cockroaches.
✅The kitchen was crawling with cockroaches.
💡This sense nearly always uses the progressive form with 'with,' not 'of.'

crawling — 名詞