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Kriechen — meaning in English

German → English · translate English → German instead

English meaning

  • crawl verb To move on hands and knees, or drag the body low along a surface.
  • creep verb To move slowly, quietly, or close to the ground.
  • grovel verb To lie or crawl face-down on the ground, often out of fear or submission.
  • kowtow verb To kneel and bow so low that the forehead touches the ground, as a sign of deep respect or submission.

Senses

Kriechen is used for these senses in English:

  • crawl (intransitive) To creep; to move slowly on hands and knees, or by dragging the body along the ground.
  • crawl (transitive) To move over (an area) slowly, with frequent stops.
  • creep The movement of something that creeps (like worms or snails).
  • creep (materials science) An increase in strain with time; the gradual flow or deformation of a material under stress.
  • creep (intransitive, of plants) To grow across a surface rather than upwards.
  • grovel (intransitive) To crawl.
  • grovel (intransitive) To abase oneself before another person.
  • grovel (intransitive) To be slavishly nice to someone or apologize in the hope of securing something.

crawl — full definition

  1. verb To move on hands and knees, or drag the body low along a surface.
  2. verb To move or progress very slowly.
  3. verb For a computer program to automatically visit and index web pages.
  4. noun A very slow pace, or a tour of several bars in one night ("bar crawl").

creep — full definition

  1. verb To move slowly, quietly, or close to the ground.
  2. verb To change or increase very gradually, often in an unwelcome way.
  3. noun An unpleasant or unsettling person, especially one who behaves in a sexually inappropriate way.

Related German words