Crawl or crawling may refer to:

• Crawling (human), any of several types of human quadrupedal gait
• Limbless locomotion, the movement of limbless animals over the ground
• Undulatory locomotion, a type of motion characterized by wave-like movement patterns that act to propel an animal forward
• A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games in which heroes navigate a labyrinth environment (a "dungeon"), battling various monsters, avoiding traps, solving puzzles, and looting any treasure they may find.[1] Video games which predominantly feature dungeon crawl elements are considered to be a genre.
• Front crawl, a swimming stroke
• News crawl or news ticker, a moving line of text on screen during TV news programs or in other contexts
• Pub crawl, an evening devoted to drinking at a series of pubs
• Rock crawling, an off-road truck sport

The front crawl or forward crawl, also known as the Australian crawl or American crawl, is a swimming stroke usually regarded as the fastest of the four front primary strokes. As such, the front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle swimming competition, and hence freestyle is used metonymically for the front crawl. It is one of two long axis strokes, the other one being the backstroke. Unlike the backstroke, the butterfly stroke, and the breaststroke, the front crawl is not regulated by the FINA. This style is sometimes referred to as the Australian crawl although this can sometimes refer to a more specific variant of front crawl. This stroke was used by Gertrude Ederle in 1926 to be the first woman to cross the English channel.

The face-down swimming position allows for a good range of motion of the arm in the water, as compared to the backstroke, where the hands cannot be moved easily along the back of the spine. The above-water recovery of the stroke reduces drag, compared to the underwater recovery of breaststroke. The alternating arms also allow some rolling movement of the body for an easier recovery compared to, for example, butterfly. Finally, the alternating arm stroke makes for a relatively constant speed throughout the cycle.

The "front crawl" style has been in use since ancient times. There is an Egyptian bas relief piece dating to 2000 BCE showing it in use.

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