Definition of 'creep'
Word forms: 3rd person singular present tense creeps, present participle creeping, past tense, past participle crept
1. intransitive verb
When people or animals creep somewhere, they move quietly and slowly.
2. intransitive verb
3. intransitive verb
4. intransitive verb
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
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Word Frequency
creep in American English
verb intransitiveWord forms: crept or ˈcreeping
2.
to move slowly, stealthily, timidly, or furtively
4.
to cringe; fawn
5.
to grow along the ground or a wall, as some plants
6.
to slip slightly out of position
7. US
to change in shape as the result of constant stress, temperature, etc.
said of materials, metals, etc. noun
8.
the act of creeping
9.
a creeping movement
10.
SIMILAR WORDS: crawl
Idioms:
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin
ME crepen < OE creopan, to creep, lit., go bent down; akin to Swed krypa < IE base *ger-: see cradleWord Frequency
creep in American English
(krip) (verb crept, creeping)
intransitive verb
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. (often fol. by up)
to approach slowly, imperceptibly, or stealthily
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. (usually fol. by up on)
to sneak up behind someone or without someone's knowledge
The prisoners crept up on the guard and knocked him out
5. (often fol. by in or into)
to enter or become evident inconspicuously, gradually, or insidiously
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.
creeping inflation
creeping socialism
noun
SYNONYMS 1. See crawl1. 3. inch, crawl, dawdle, poke.14.
an act or instance of creeping
17. Geology
b.
the slow deformation of solid rock resulting from constant stress applied over long
periods
18. Mechanics
the gradual, permanent deformation of a body produced by a continued application of heat or stress
21. See creep feeder
22. See the creeps
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
creepingly adverb
Word origin
[bef. 900; ME crepen, OE crēopan; c. D kruipen, ON krjūpa]Word Frequency
creep in British English
verbWord forms: creeps, creeping, crept (intransitive)
2.
to move slowly, quietly, or cautiously
4.
to move or slip out of place, as from pressure or wear
5.
6.
7.
to develop gradually
creeping unrest
8.
to have the sensation of something crawling over the skin
9.
noun
10.
the act of creeping or a creeping movement
12.
the continuous permanent deformation of a body or substance as a result of stress or heat
15.
slow plastic deformation of metals
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
Old English crēopan; related to Old Frisian kriāpa, Old Norse krjūpa, Middle Low German krūpenWord Frequency
creep in Mechanical Engineering
(krip)
noun
(Mechanical engineering: Materials)
Creep is the tendency of a solid material to move or change shape slightly as a result of stress that continues
for some time.
As the stress continues, the extension of the metal caused by creep eventually leads to failure.
During creep, damage accumulates in the form of internal cavities.
Creep is the tendency of a solid material to move or change shape slightly as a result
of stress that continues for some time.
Collins COBUILD Key Words for Mechanical Engineering. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Examples of 'creep' in a sentence
creep
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In other languages
creep
British English: creep
/kriːp/ VERB
person If you creep somewhere, you move in a very slow and quiet way.
He crept up the stairs.
- American English: creep /ˈkrip/
- Arabic: يَزْحَفُ
- Brazilian Portuguese: andar devagar
- Chinese: 悄悄地缓慢前进
- Croatian: šuljati se
- Czech: plížit se
- Danish: krybe
- Dutch: sluipen
- European Spanish: moverse sigilosamente
- Finnish: hiipiä
- French: ramper
- German: schleichen
- Greek: έρπω
- Italian: avanzare furtivamente
- Japanese: こっそり歩く
- Korean: 살금살금 움직이다
- Norwegian: krype
- Polish: skradać się
- European Portuguese: arrastar-se
- Romanian: a se târî
- Russian: красться
- Spanish: moverse lentamente
- Swedish: smyga
- Thai: ค่อยๆ เคลื่อน, เคลื่อนที่อย่างช้าๆ
- Turkish: sessizce çıkmak
- Ukrainian: крастися
- Vietnamese: bò trườn
British English: creep
/kriːp/ VERB
animal If an animal creeps, it moves along close to the ground.
The mouse crept across the room.
- American English: creep /ˈkrip/
- Arabic: يَزْحَفُ
- Brazilian Portuguese: arrastar-se
- Chinese: 爬行
- Croatian: gmizati
- Czech: plazit se
- Danish: krybe
- Dutch: kruipen
- European Spanish: arrastrarse
- Finnish: hiipiä
- French: ramper
- German: kriechen
- Greek: έρπω
- Italian: strisciare
- Japanese: はう
- Korean: 기다
- Norwegian: krype
- Polish: skradać się
- European Portuguese: rastejar
- Romanian: a se târî
- Russian: ползти
- Spanish: arrastrarse
- Swedish: krypa
- Thai: คลาน
- Turkish: geçmek
- Ukrainian: плазувати
- Vietnamese: bò
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Definition of creep from the Collins English Dictionary
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