creeper

[ kree-per ]

noun

1. a person or thing that creeps.
2. Botany. a plant that grows upon or just beneath the surface of the ground, or upon any other surface, sending out rootlets from the stem, as ivy and couch grass.
3. Often creepers. a one-piece garment for an infant, the lower portion resembling briefs or having legs extending to the knees, with snaps across the crotch for convenience in diapering.
4. Chiefly Northeastern U.S. a spiked iron plate worn on the shoe to prevent slipping on ice, rock, etc.
5. Also called brothel creeper. Informal. a shoe with a thick, soft sole:

   She wore a miniskirt and creepers.

6. Also called cradle. Automotive. a flat framework on casters, on which a mechanic lies while working under an automobile or the like.
7. Ornithology. any of various birds that creep or climb about on trees, especially of the family Certhiidae, as Certhia americana brown creeper, or tree creeper, of the Northern Hemisphere.
8. a domestic fowl having malformed, short legs, due to a genetic defect.
9. a grappling device for dragging a river, lake, etc.
10. Also creep. Slang. a sneak thief.
11. Slang. a person who makes persistent sexual advances toward someone, or who cheats on a sexual partner.
12. Slang. creep ( def 18 ).
13. Slang. a person who follows someone persistently or stealthily; a stalker.

creeper

/ ˈkriːpə /

noun

1. a person or animal that creeps
2. a plant, such as the ivy or periwinkle, that grows by creeping
3. Also calledtree creeper any small songbird of the family Certhiidae of the N hemisphere, having a brown-and-white plumage and slender downward-curving bill. They creep up trees to feed on insects
4. a hooked instrument for dragging deep water
5. Also calledcradle a flat board or framework mounted on casters, used to lie on when working under cars
6. Also calleddaisy cutter cricket a bowled ball that keeps low or travels along the ground
7. either of a pair of low iron supports for logs in a hearth
8. informal.
   a shoe with a soft sole

Word History and Origins

Origin of creeper¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English crepere, Old English crēopere; creep, -er ¹