Crawling is a form of moving around by some animals, and, in some cases humans, generally involving slow movement on all limbs.

For humans it usually means moving on knees and hands, with support from the toes. Except for using a vehicle or being carried by an animal, it is the main alternative to walking and running. Crawling is used mainly when a person is not capable of walking because of being an infant or due to a disability or being wounded or sick. It is also applied in very low places (a cave, under a table, etc.), when searching for something on the ground, for stealth (camouflage and quietness), for lowering the field of vision, and for fun or comical purposes.

Crawling, in terms of pain sensations, refers to feeling as if covered with crawling things (i.e., ants).

In the case of gun fire (or other projectiles flying over), crawling reduces the risk of being hit.

See also

• Front crawl (swimming style)
• Rock crawling (off-road sport involving heavily modified trucks)
• Kneeling
• Plastun
• Web crawling (technology for search engines)

Human skills | Locomotion