How to pronounce crawl
Say it like KRAWL. Crawl is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress.
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce crawl. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- KRAWL
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Crawl pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- KRAWLSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "aw" in law.
American vs British pronunciation of crawl
American and British speakers say crawl in essentially the same way: /krɔl/ in the US and /krɔːl/ in the UK.
British respelling: KRAWL.
What does crawl mean?
- move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground“The crocodile was crawling along the riverbed”
- feel as if crawling with insects“My skin crawled--I was terrified”
- be full of“The old cheese was crawling with maggots”
- a very slow movement“the traffic advanced at a crawl”
- a swimming stroke; arms are moved alternately overhead accompanied by a flutter kick
- a slow mode of locomotion on hands and knees or dragging the body“a crawl was all that the injured man could manage”“the traffic moved at a creep”
Where does crawl come from?
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 krabbe
Similar and opposite words
Similar meaning
Words that rhyme with crawl
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of crawl.
Questions about saying crawl
How do you pronounce crawl?
Say KRAWL. The American pronunciation is /krɔl/. In British English it is /krɔːl/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in crawl?
Crawl is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: KRAWL.
Do Americans and Brits say crawl the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /krɔl/ and the British form is /krɔːl/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.