crawler

crawler — noun

1. a very young child who moves around on hands and knees because they cannot stand

1.名詞B1
釋義

a very young child who moves around on hands and knees because they cannot stand up and walk yet

例句

Vivek and his wife put soft mats on every floor for their crawler daughter.

crawler described by age (now), protective context

The babysitter watched the little crawler near the bottom of the stairs.

crawler after 'keep an eye on' — safety context

同義詞
  • baby

    general term for a very young child; crawler specifies the crawling stage

  • infant

    more formal or medical term; does not imply crawling

  • toddler

    a child who has just learned to walk, not a crawler

反義詞
  • walker

    a child who can walk, the next stage after crawler

文法句型

crawler + verb (present simple)

用法筆記

Usually describes babies between about six and twelve months old who have started moving independently but cannot yet walk.

常見錯誤

❌The crawler fell asleep in her high chair.
✅The baby fell asleep in her high chair.
💡a crawler is a baby who is moving on hands and knees, not any baby.

2. any vehicle or machine that moves at an extremely slow speed, especially because

2.名詞B2
釋義

any vehicle or machine that moves at an extremely slow speed, especially because it is large or performing careful work

例句

The old tractor was a slow crawler on the narrow country road behind the farm.

crawler modified by 'slow' for clarity

A snowplow is a useful crawler that clears streets at a steady, careful pace.

crawler as a type of utility vehicle

同義詞
  • slowpoke

    informal term for a slow person or thing, not specific to vehicles

  • snail

    metaphorical term for anything very slow, but not a standard vehicle term

文法句型

crawler + verb for movement

用法筆記

Often used for large industrial or agricultural vehicles such as tractors, snowplows, or road rollers, but can describe any vehicle stuck in slow-moving traffic.

常見錯誤

❌The sports car was a fast crawler on the highway.
✅The sports car was a slow crawler in the rush-hour traffic.
💡a crawler is always slow, not fast.

3. someone who acts overly friendly or obedient toward people in powerful positions

3.名詞C1
釋義

someone who acts overly friendly or obedient toward people in powerful positions, hoping to receive some personal gain from them

例句

Everyone at the office knew Jack was a crawler who always agreed with the boss.

crawler as disapproving label in workplace

The new employee acted like a crawler, bringing the manager coffee every single morning.

同義詞
  • sycophant

    more formal and stronger; same meaning as crawler

  • brown-noser

    very informal, stronger negative tone

  • yes-man

    someone who agrees with everything a superior says, not necessarily seeking advantage

  • flatterer

    focuses on the praising behaviour rather than the motive

反義詞
  • rebel

    someone who openly opposes authority rather than seeking favour

文法句型

crawler + preposition + for (a benefit)

用法筆記

Used disapprovingly. Common in workplace or political contexts to describe someone who flatters superiors insincerely.

常見錯誤

❌She was a real crawler, helping anyone who needed it.
✅She was a real crawler, flattering the manager at every meeting.
💡crawler implies insincere flattery for personal gain, not genuine helpfulness.

4. a piece of software that visits websites automatically and collects data from th

4.名詞B2
釋義

a piece of software that visits websites automatically and collects data from them, typically used by search engines to keep their records up to date

例句

Google's crawler reads billions of web pages every day to keep search results fresh.

crawler + search engine name as typical subject

The website owner noticed the crawler from Yahoo had visited her blog five times.

crawler + verb 'visit' for web activity

同義詞
  • spider

    more informal term for the same type of program; 'web spider' is common

  • bot

    broader term for any automated program; not all bots are crawlers

  • scraper

    focuses on extracting data; not all crawlers are scrapers

文法句型

crawler + verb for automated action

用法筆記

Also called a web crawler, spider, or bot. The term is most commonly associated with search engine services like Google and Bing.

常見錯誤

❌The web crawler crawled across the server room floor.
✅The web crawler indexed over a million pages last night.
💡a web crawler is software, not a physical creature.

5. a large vehicle that runs on two continuous belts fitted around sets of wheels,

5.名詞C1
釋義

a large vehicle that runs on two continuous belts fitted around sets of wheels, designed for use on soft, muddy, or uneven ground

例句

The construction crew used a large crawler to lift steel beams onto the building frame.

crawler on a construction site

Ignacio drove a crawler across the muddy field where ordinary trucks would get stuck.

crawler on rough ground where ordinary vehicles fail

同義詞
  • tracked vehicle

    more formal or technical; equivalent meaning

  • caterpillar

    brand name often used generically for tracked vehicles, like 'Caterpillar' the company

文法句型

crawler + verb for movement on terrain

用法筆記

The continuous belts are often called caterpillar tracks. This type of vehicle is used on construction sites, farms, and in military operations where tyres would sink into the ground.

常見錯誤

❌The crawler drove fast on the highway to reach the site.
✅The crawler travelled slowly across the muddy construction site.
💡tracked vehicles are designed for rough terrain at low speeds, not highways.