all-fours

How babies crawl

All-fours describes the position of being on hands and knees, like a four-legged animal: The baby crawled on all-fours, He got down on all-fours to look under the bed.

The phrase suggests a posture close to the ground, often for searching, crawling, or in contexts ranging from innocent to sexual.

cardgame

trump

Suit outranking all others

trickDeliberate deception
dealAgreement or distribution
shuffleRandomize by mixing

high · low · jack · begging · gift · run · ace · king · queen · ten

crawling

infant

Very young child

toddlerChild learning to walk
crawlingMoving on hands, knees
quadrupedalWalking on four legs

creeping · babyhood · floor · baby · kneeling · prone · mobility · locomotion · developmental · milestone

posture

kneeling

Lowering onto bent legs

crouchingBending low, knees bent
proneInclined or face-down
quadrupedFour-limbed walker

floor · position · down · ground · searching · scrubbing · yoga · cat-cow · exercise · stretch

Opposites

body position/posture

all-foursupright

Vertical or morally sound

standing · erect · standing upright · standing tall · vertical

mobility mode

all-foursstriding

Walking with long steps

on foot · ambulatory · marching · crawling

Family

all, four, fours

Familiarity: Top 200,000
Profile: Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G