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creeps - 4 dictionary results
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creeps

  [kreeps]
Use creeps in a Sentence
–noun (used with a singular verb)
Veterinary Pathology. a disease of the bones in sheep and cattle that causes pain in walking, resulting from a deficiency of phosphorus in the diet.
Origin:
so called from the effect on the animal's gait; see creep, -s 3

creep

  [kreep] verb, crept, creep⋅ing, noun
–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 fol. 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 fol. 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 fol. 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 fol. by for): The ships crept for their anchor chains.
–verb (used with object)
12. Archaic. to creep along or over.
–noun
13. an act or instance of creeping.
14. Slang. a boring, disturbingly eccentric, painfully introverted, or obnoxious person.
15. Slang. an intelligence or counterintelligence agent; spy.
16. 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.
17. Mechanics. the gradual, permanent deformation of a body produced by a continued application of heat or stress.
18. a grappling iron; grapnel.
19. Firearms. the slack in a trigger mechanism before it releases the firing pin.
20. creep feeder.
21. 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.
—Idiom
22. make one's flesh creep, to be frightening or repellent; cause one to experience uneasiness: The eerie stories made our flesh creep.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME crepen, OE crēopan; c. D kruipen, ON krjūpa

Related forms:
creep⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. See crawl. 3. inch, crawl, dawdle, poke.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To creeps
creep   (krēp)   
intr.v.   crept (krěpt), creep·ing, creeps
  1. To move with the body close to the ground, as on hands and knees.
    1. To move stealthily or cautiously.
    2. To move or proceed very slowly: Traffic creeps at that hour.
    3. To grow or spread along a surface, rooting at intervals or clinging by means of suckers or tendrils.
    4. To grow horizontally under the ground, as the rhizomes of many plants.
  3. Botany
    1. To grow or spread along a surface, rooting at intervals or clinging by means of suckers or tendrils.
    2. To grow horizontally under the ground, as the rhizomes of many plants.
  4. To slip out of place; shift gradually.
  5. To have a tingling sensation, made by or as if by things moving stealthily: a moan that made my flesh creep.
n.  
  1. The act of creeping; a creeping motion or progress.
  2. Slang An annoyingly unpleasant or repulsive person.
  3. A slow flow of metal when under high temperature or great pressure.
  4. A slow change in a characteristic of electronic equipment, such as a decrease in power with continued usage.
  5. Geology The slow movement of rock debris and soil down a weathered slope.
  6. creeps Informal A sensation of fear or repugnance, as if things were crawling on one's skin: That house gives me the creeps.

[Middle English crepen, from Old English crēopan.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Main Entry: creeps
Pronunciation: 'krEps
Function: noun plural
: a deficiency disease especially of sheep and cattle associated with an abnormalcalcium-phosphorus ratio in the diet and characterized by progressive anemia, painful softening of the bones, and a stiff slow gait
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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