What does "crawler" mean?
A child who is able to creep using its hands and knees but is not able to walk.
Crawler
noun, slang
noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A child who is able to creep using its hands and knees but is not able to walk.
- Grammar: crawler is listed as noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: angleworm, ass-kisser, creeper, dew worm.
- Usage evidence: Crawler-based search engines have three major elements. The first is the spider, also called the crawler, which visits a web page, reads it, and then follows links to other pages within the site.
How to use "crawler"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "crawler" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "crawler" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "crawler" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "crawler" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "crawler" is acting as noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "angleworm" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "crawler", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A child who is able to creep using its hands and knees but is not able to walk.
- 2 A person who is abused, physically or verbally, and returns to the abuser a supplicant. Australia, obsolete
- 3 terrestrial worm that burrows into and helps aerate soil; often surfaces when the ground is cool or wet; used as bait by anglers wordnet
- 4 A crawl swimmer.
- 5 A sycophant. Australia, UK, slang
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 a person who crawls or creeps along the ground wordnet
- 7 A tractor crawler, a motorized vehicle that uses caterpillar tracks instead of wheels.
- 8 a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage wordnet
- 9 A software bot that autonomously follows connected paths such as links between web pages. Internet
"Crawler-based search engines have three major elements. The first is the spider, also called the crawler, which visits a web page, reads it, and then follows links to other pages within the site."
- 10 A mobile stage in the development of stationary hemipteran insects such as scale insects—generally the first instar.
- 11 A cab that is driven slowly along while its driver looks out for a fare. UK, obsolete, slang
- 12 Synonym of crawler crane.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Crawler-based search engines have three major elements. The first is the spider, also called the crawler, which visits a web page, reads it, and then follows links to other pages within the site."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "crawler"?
Common synonyms include: angleworm, ass-kisser, creeper, dew worm, earthworm, fishing worm.
How do you use "crawler" in a sentence?
Crawler-based search engines have three major elements. The first is the spider, also called the crawler, which visits a web page, reads it, and then follows links to other pages within the site.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From crawl (“to move slowly, by dragging the body along the ground”) + -er.
Etymology 2
From crawl (“to act in a servile manner”) + -er. From the Australian convict period (1788–1850); a prisoner who was purposely and extensively abused by an overseer (also a convict) and thereby driven to escape but who, finding it impossible to survive in the Australian bush, surrenders to this overseer, who would then have his penal term reduced. The particular crawler was picked for his weak personality and might escape and return a number of times increasing his own penal term each time. According to James Tucker, some convict overseers had their sentences extensively reduced using this odious practice.