creep
Use Creep in a sentence
verb (used without object)
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.
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: creeping inflation; creeping socialism.
9.
to slip, slide, or shift gradually; become displaced.
10.
(of a metal object) to become deformed, as under continuous loads or at high temperatures.
11.
Nautical. to grapple (usually followed by for ): The ships crept for their anchor chains.
verb (used with object)
12.
Archaic. to creep along or over.
00:10
Creep
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is yaff. Does it mean:
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
| to bark; yelp. |
noun
Idioms 13.
an act or instance of creeping: It seems as if time has slowed to a creep.
14.
Slang. a boring, disturbingly eccentric, painfully introverted, or obnoxious person.
15.
Slang. an intelligence or counterintelligence agent; spy.
16.
a gradual or inconspicuous increase, advance, change, or development: Avoid jargon creep in your writing. We are seeing the steady creep of consumerism.
17.
Geology.
a.
the gradual movement downhill of loose soil, rock, gravel, etc.; solifluction.
b.
the slow deformation of solid rock resulting from constant stress applied over long periods.
23.
make one's flesh creep, to be frightening or repellent; cause one to experience uneasiness: The eerie stories made our flesh creep.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English crepen, Old English crēopan; cognate with Dutch kruipen, Old Norse krjūpa
before 900; Middle English crepen, Old English crēopan; cognate with Dutch kruipen, Old Norse krjūpa
Related forms
creep·ing·ly, adverb
non·creep·ing, adjective
out·creep, verb (used with object), out·crept, out·creep·ing.
un·creep·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To creep
Collins
World English Dictionary
creep (kriːp) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb , creeps, creeping, crept | |
| 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 |
| —n | |
| 10. | the act of creeping or a creeping movement |
| 11. | slang a person considered to be obnoxious or servile |
| 12. | the continuous permanent deformation of a body or substance as a result of stress or heat |
| 13. | geology the gradual downwards movement of loose rock material, soil, etc, on a slope |
| 14. | a slow relative movement of two adjacent parts, structural components, etc |
| 15. | slow plastic deformation of metals |
| [Old English crēopan; related to Old Frisian kriāpa, Old Norse krjūpa, Middle Low German krūpen] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
creep
O.E. creopan "to creep" (class II strong verb; past tense creap, pp. cropen), from P.Gmc. *kreupanan, from PIE base *greug-. Noun use for "despicable person" is 1935, Amer.Eng. slang, perhaps from earlier sense of "sneak thief" (1914). Creeper "a gilded rascal" is recorded from c.1600, and the word also
was used of certain classes of thieves, esp. those who robbed customers in brothels. The creeps first attested 1849, in Dickens.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
creep definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
| CREEP Committee to Reelect the President |
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
creep
In addition to the idiom beginning with creep, also see make one's flesh creep; the creeps.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
While many bats can only creep awkwardly on the ground, for example, vampire bats can actually gallop.
It would creep along the ecliptic at a rate of one degree every nine years.
He would watch the daylight wax and wane on the ceiling, or roaches creep slowly up the wall.
Drivers creep behind shoppers returning to their cars in hopes of snagging a parking space.
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