creep

play

verb \ ˈkrēp \

Definition of creep

crept play \ˈkrept\; creeping

intransitive verb

1 a :to move along with the body prone and close to the ground

A spider was creeping along the bathroom floor.

b :to move slowly on hands and knees

He crept toward the edge of the cliff.

2 a :to go very slowly

The hours crept by.

b :to go timidly or cautiously so as to escape notice

She crept away from the festive scene.

c :to enter or advance gradually so as to be almost unnoticed

Age creeps up on us.

A note of irritation crept into her voice.

3 :to have the sensation of being covered with creeping things

The thought made his flesh creep.

4 of a plant :to spread or grow over a surface rooting at intervals or clinging with tendrils, stems, or aerial roots

5 a :to slip or gradually shift position

The high temperatures of the jet engine cause the turbine blade to creep.

b :to change shape permanently from prolonged stress or exposure to high temperatures

See creep defined for English-language learners

See creep defined for kids

Examples of creep in a Sentence

She crept toward the edge of the roof and looked over.
I caught him creeping down the stairs to the kitchen.
She crept into bed next to her sleeping husband.
The hours crept by as we waited for morning.
a train creeping through the town
The price of gasoline has crept back up to three dollars a gallon.
A few mistakes crept in during the last revision of the paper.
new words creeping into the language

Recent Examples of creep from the Web

Bill auction rates have been creeping higher even as supply continues to decline.

— alex harris, Bloomberg.com, "Debt Ceiling Anxiety Tracker: Wall Street Is Taking No Chances," 30 Aug. 2017
In May, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that the average age of first-time mothers in the U.S. has been steadily creeping upward — new moms are generally around 28 years old nowadays, up from 26 just four years ago.

— lisa ryan, The Cut, "First-time Dads Are Older Than Ever Before," 30 Aug. 2017
But for Florida’s players, long-term goals creep into that mentality.

— ethan bauer, miamiherald, "Florida’s Jim McElwain is dreaming big entering Year 3," 29 Aug. 2017
A stunning amount of rain has fallen over Texas so far, and it is expected to continue for several more days as the storm creeps along, weakening slightly.

— sandhya somashekhar, Washington Post, "How Harvey went from a little-noticed storm to a behemoth," 27 Aug. 2017
When the darkness crept in, the cool did, too, and confused crickets and katydids started their goodnight chorus.

— beth thames, AL.com, "If you didn't look up, did the eclipse still happen?," 23 Aug. 2017
In southeastern Peru, for instance, unauthorized road construction has been creeping toward an area where a group of Mashco Piro people have repeatedly emerged from the forest.

— barbara fraser, Science | AAAS, "Maps reveal how Amazon development is closing in on isolated tribes," 17 Aug. 2017
Here in LA, gas stations—once an ubiquitous image in this city—are noticeably creeping toward that inevitable fate.

— neal broverman, Los Angeles Magazine, "Developers Have Uncovered a Brilliant Use for LA’s Old Gas Stations," 16 Aug. 2017
Those starts have included the likes of Anthony DeSclafani and Brandon Finnegan, at one time examples of a brighter future, but injuries have allowed doubts to creep in about those.

— c. trent rosecrans, Cincinnati.com, "Another game, another Reds rookie takes a loss," 13 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'creep.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of creep

Middle English crepen, from Old English crēopan; akin to Old Norse krjūpa to creep

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

creep Synonyms

Synonyms

encroach, inch, worm

creep

noun

Definition of creep

1 :a movement of or like creeping

traffic moving at a creep

2 :a distressing sensation like that caused by the creeping of insects over one's flesh; especially :a feeling of apprehension or horror —usually used in plural with the

That gives me the creeps.

3 :a feed trough accessible only by young animals and used especially to supply special or supplementary feed — called also creep feeder

4 :the slow change of dimensions of an object from prolonged exposure to high temperature or stress

5 :an unpleasant or obnoxious person

6 :a slow but persistent increase or elevation

This political inertia … makes budget creep inevitable.
—The Wall Street Journal

See creep defined for English-language learners

Examples of creep in a Sentence

I get the creeps every time he walks by.
I hate snakes. They give me the creeps.
That guy gives me the creeps.

Recent Examples of creep from the Web

That bit of mission creep is complicating things for the GOP, and could lead to deadlock.

— Washington Post, "Medicaid mission creep threatens GOP’s ‘Obamacare’ repeal," 27 June 2017
The combination of the non-gearbox and the torquey engine also created some surging at low speeds; there’s little idle creep and the car tends to lunge as soon as the throttle is pressed.

— mike duff, Car and Driver, "2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross," 26 June 2017
The tentacles into creepy Florida gambling society and the desperate creeps staying a few steps ahead of the law make this a great summer read.

— peter king, The MMQB, "The Hunt for Carson Wentz and Father’s Day Books," 12 June 2017
But of course those two sides were entwined, like Ginger and the creep who beat her.

— elisabeth egan, chicagotribune.com, "Algren Award finalist: "Errata" by Carol Keeley," 10 June 2017
Armed with snake tongs and 5-gallon buckets, the group taking to the field last month is part of a 30-year quest by CWU biologist Dan Beck to uncover the secrets of a creature that gives most people the creeps.

— sandi doughton, The Seattle Times, "Don’t fear Washington state’s only rattler — get to know it, biologist urges," 5 June 2017
Frank leered in on Doug and LeAnn’s hook up, which may have been a bid by her for renewed access to the White House or may have just indicated her crush on D.C.’s biggest creep.

— spencer kornhaber, The Atlantic, "House of Cards Season 5, Episode 11: The Live-Binge Review," 2 June 2017
The 2016 GAO report congratulated NASA for slowing budget creep in recent years, but attributed it only in part to new project management tools, with the rest of the credit going to rising baseline estimates that hide percentage-wise growth.

— charlie wood, The Christian Science Monitor, "Where are all the space hotels? Why smart people make terrible forecasts.," 1 June 2017
Lyft and Uber would be doomed if the cars stunk and the drivers were creeps.

— scott canon, kansascity.com, "Digital Life: Tech in a nanny state or Ayn Rand wonderland," 29 May 2017