Advertisement
Advertisement
creep
[ kreep ]
verb (used without object)
- to move slowly with the body close to the ground, as a reptile or an insect, or a person on hands and knees.
- to approach slowly, imperceptibly, or stealthily (often followed by up ):
We crept up and peeked over the wall.
- to move or advance slowly or gradually:
The automobile crept up the hill. Time just seems to creep along on these hot summer days.
Synonyms: , , ,
- to sneak up behind someone or without someone's knowledge (usually followed by up on ):
The prisoners crept up on the guard and knocked him out.
- to enter or become evident inconspicuously, gradually, or insidiously (often followed by in or into: ) The writer's personal bias occasionally creeps into the account.
- to move or behave timidly or servilely.
- to grow along the ground, a wall, etc., as a plant.
- to advance or develop gradually so as to infringe on or supplant something else.
- Slang.
- to flirt with or make persistent sexual advances toward someone (often followed by on ):
He creeps on all the women he meets.
- to cheat on one’s sexual partner:
He caught his wife creepin' with the guy who lives next-door.
- Slang. to follow someone persistently or stealthily, as on a social media website (often followed by on ):
He spends a lot of time creeping on her Facebook profile.
- Slang. to suddenly intrude into someone’s photograph as it is being taken:
Who’s that creeping in the background of the picture?
- to slip, slide, or shift gradually; become displaced.
- (of a metal object) to become deformed, as under continuous loads or at high temperatures.
- Nautical. to grapple (usually followed by for ):
The ships crept for their anchor chains.
verb (used with object)
- Slang. to follow persistently or stealthily, especially online:
I’ve been creeping her blog and found some great recipes.
- Archaic. to creep along or over.
noun
- an act or instance of creeping:
It seems as if time has slowed to a creep.
- Slang. an obnoxious, disturbingly eccentric, deviant, or painfully introverted person.
- Slang. an intelligence or counterintelligence agent; spy.
- Slang. creeper ( def 10 ).
- a gradual or inconspicuous increase, advance, change, or development:
Avoid jargon creep in your writing.
We are seeing the steady creep of consumerism.
- Geology.
- the gradual movement downhill of loose soil, rock, gravel, etc.; solifluction.
- the slow deformation of solid rock resulting from constant stress applied over long periods.
- Mechanics. the gradual, permanent deformation of a body produced by a continued application of heat or stress.
- a grappling iron; grapnel.
- Firearms. the slack in a trigger mechanism before it releases the firing pin.
- the creeps, Informal. a sensation of horror, fear, disgust, etc., suggestive of the feeling induced by something crawling over the skin:
That horror movie gave me the creeps.
verb phrase
- Informal. to cause to experience uneasiness or disgust: I was so creeped out that I had to sleep with the lights on.
She’s been getting crank calls that are creeping her out.
I was so creeped out that I had to sleep with the lights on.
creep
/ ː /
verb
- to crawl with the body near to or touching the ground
- to move slowly, quietly, or cautiously
- to act in a servile way; fawn; cringe
- to move or slip out of place, as from pressure or wear
- (of plants) to grow along the ground or over rocks, producing roots, suckers, or tendrils at intervals
- (of a body or substance) to become permanently deformed as a result of an applied stress, often when combined with heating
- to develop gradually
creeping unrest
- to have the sensation of something crawling over the skin
- (of metals) to undergo slow plastic deformation
noun
- the act of creeping or a creeping movement
- slang.a person considered to be obnoxious or servile
- the continuous permanent deformation of a body or substance as a result of stress or heat
- geology the gradual downwards movement of loose rock material, soil, etc, on a slope
- a slow relative movement of two adjacent parts, structural components, etc
- slow plastic deformation of metals
Other Word Forms
- ·Բ· adverb
- ԴDz··Բ adjective
- dzܳ· verb (used with object) outcrept outcreeping
- ܲ··Բ adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of creep1
Word History and Origins
Origin of creep1
Idioms and Phrases
- make one's flesh creep, to be frightening or repellent; cause one to experience uneasiness:
The eerie stories made our flesh creep.
More idioms and phrases containing creep
In addition to the idiom beginning with creep , also see make one's flesh creep ; the creeps .Synonym Study
Example Sentences
“It was 24 hours a day of worrying, trying to keep the creeps away. Fame and money in rock-and-roll — it’s all a very dangerous area to live in.”
However, it is possible that the mercury may creep a little higher.
It’s a small show that creeps up on you, like a bizarre dream that’s hard to shake.
This scam isn't limited to clinic jobs - it's creeping into other industries.
All the while, the price kept creeping up and up.
Advertisement
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse