Creep definition
Prices have been creeping up all year.
A creeping sycophant.
Stop following me, you creep!
The function creep of using social security numbers for general identification purposes; mission creep from a military peacekeeping role to one of providing economic development.
An example of a creep is a hill that is moving very slowly.
An example of a creep is a scary, leering old man who always stares at you when you walk by his house.
An example of creep is when you sneak in after everyone is sleeping and you walk on tip-toes in the dark.
A moan that made my flesh creep.
Traffic creeps at that hour.
Old age creeps upon us.
The sight made my flesh creep.
Christmas creep. Feature creep. Instruction creep. Mission creep.
Lizards and snakes crept over the ground.
He tried to creep past the guard without being seen.
The collodion on a negative, or a coat of varnish, may creep in drying.
The quicksilver on a mirror may creep.
That house gives me the creeps.
- to make frightened or disgusted
- to give one a feeling of fear, repugnance, etc.
- a feeling of fear, repugnance, etc.
Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
Origin of creep
- Middle English crepen from Old English crēopan
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Middle English crepen, from Old English crēopan (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-Germanic *kreupaną (“to twist, creep”), from Proto-Indo-European *ger- (“to turn, wind”). Cognate with West Frisian krippe, krûpe, Eastern Frisian crjippa (“to creep”), Low German krepen, krupen, Dutch kruipen (“to creep, crawl”), Middle High German kriefen (“to creep”), Danish krybe (“to creep”), Norwegian krype (“to creep”), Swedish krypa (“to creep, crawl”), Icelandic krjúpa (“to stoop”).
From Wiktionary
- From the above verb.
From Wiktionary