creep

[ kreep ]

verb (used without object)

, crept, creep·ing.

1. to move slowly with the body close to the ground, as a reptile or an insect, or a person on hands and knees.
2. to approach slowly, imperceptibly, or stealthily (often followed by up ):

   We crept up and peeked over the wall.

3. 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: poke, dawdle, crawl, inch

4. 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.

5. 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.
6. to move or behave timidly or servilely.
7. to grow along the ground, a wall, etc., as a plant.
8. to advance or develop gradually so as to infringe on or supplant something else.
9. Slang.
   1. to flirt with or make persistent sexual advances toward someone (often followed by on ):

      He creeps on all the women he meets.

   2. to cheat on one’s sexual partner:

      He caught his wife creepin' with the guy who lives next-door.

10. 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.

11. Slang. to suddenly intrude into someone’s photograph as it is being taken:

    Who’s that creeping in the background of the picture?

12. to slip, slide, or shift gradually; become displaced.
13. (of a metal object) to become deformed, as under continuous loads or at high temperatures.
14. Nautical. to grapple (usually followed by for ):

    The ships crept for their anchor chains.

verb (used with object)

, crept, creep·ing.

1. Slang. to follow persistently or stealthily, especially online:

   I’ve been creeping her blog and found some great recipes.

2. Archaic. to creep along or over.

noun

1. an act or instance of creeping:

   It seems as if time has slowed to a creep.

2. Slang. an obnoxious, disturbingly eccentric, deviant, or painfully introverted person.
3. Slang. an intelligence or counterintelligence agent; spy.
4. Slang. creeper ( def 10 ).
5. a gradual or inconspicuous increase, advance, change, or development:

   Avoid jargon creep in your writing.

   We are seeing the steady creep of consumerism.

6. Geology.
   1. the gradual movement downhill of loose soil, rock, gravel, etc.; solifluction.
   2. the slow deformation of solid rock resulting from constant stress applied over long periods.
7. Mechanics. the gradual, permanent deformation of a body produced by a continued application of heat or stress.
8. a grappling iron; grapnel.
9. Firearms. the slack in a trigger mechanism before it releases the firing pin.
10. creep feeder.
11. 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

1. 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

/ kriːp /

verb

1. to crawl with the body near to or touching the ground
2. to move slowly, quietly, or cautiously
3. to act in a servile way; fawn; cringe
4. to move or slip out of place, as from pressure or wear
5. (of plants) to grow along the ground or over rocks, producing roots, suckers, or tendrils at intervals
6. (of a body or substance) to become permanently deformed as a result of an applied stress, often when combined with heating
7. to develop gradually

   creeping unrest

8. to have the sensation of something crawling over the skin
9. (of metals) to undergo slow plastic deformation

noun

1. the act of creeping or a creeping movement
2. slang.
   a person considered to be obnoxious or servile
3. the continuous permanent deformation of a body or substance as a result of stress or heat
4. geology the gradual downwards movement of loose rock material, soil, etc, on a slope
5. a slow relative movement of two adjacent parts, structural components, etc
6. slow plastic deformation of metals

Other Words From

• creep·ing·ly adverb
• non·creep·ing adjective
• out·creep verb (used with object) outcrept outcreeping
• un·creep·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of creep¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English crepen, Old English crēopan; cognate with Dutch kruipen, Old Norse krjūpa

Word History and Origins

Origin of creep¹

Old English crēopan; related to Old Frisian kriāpa, Old Norse krjūpa, Middle Low German krūpen

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. 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

See crawl ¹.

Example Sentences

Kate concludes that Jeanette may be a creep but that she would be an innocent one.

From Washington Post

The nurse returns with, of all things, “Sabbath’s Theater,” Philip Roth’s sexually explicit work about an aging, suicidal creep.

From Washington Post

Between the labor-intensive work and that superficial creep factor, making miniatures can be solitary or even ostracizing.

From Popular-Science

They must slow the creep of mortality until the last possible moment, at which point they abruptly pivot from healers to consolers.

From Washington Post

We can start by refusing to make or use any more digital shackles, and by refusing to let their creep extend one inch—or one use case—further.

From MIT Technology Review

Another acquaintance described Seevakumaran as “a creep,” who would “constantly hit on women.”

From The Daily Beast

It distorts more and more every day of the month, every year, due to the slow effects of fault creep.

From The Daily Beast

But generational differences soon creep in, threatening to pull the two couples apart.

From The Daily Beast

Of course my very first words to that creep had been, “Which way to the mechanical sharks?”

From The Daily Beast

As the price of gas continues to creep up, it is helpful to find ways to reduce fuel costs.

From The Daily Beast

He listened to tales of the Igorrotes, who live in huts like beehives and creep into them like insects.

From Project Gutenberg

It was some minutes before the children dared to creep out of the bushes again.

From Project Gutenberg

There, in broad daylight, I saw Maloney deliberately creep closer to the fire and heap the wood on.

From Project Gutenberg

Don't let the idea creep into your head, that I am going to give you a dull and sleepy essay on music.

From Project Gutenberg

I am too sore and bruised to be thankful; I feel, sometimes, as if I could creep into a dark corner and cry my heart out.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• glide
• inch
• lurk
• slink
• slither
• snake
• sneak
• tiptoe
• wriggle