crept

Definition of creptnext
past tense of creep
1
as in encroached
to advance gradually beyond the usual or desirable limits water crept slowly over the top of the tub and onto the floor

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
3
as in crawled
to move slowly with the body close to the ground the kitten crept silently across the floor before suddenly pouncing on the mouse

Synonyms & Similar Words

4

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of crept Separately, Miami-Dade received another $7 million in federal dollars just for World Cup transportation costs — an expense that has crept higher in the two years since the Host Committee originally floated the $46 million subsidy package for Miami-Dade to cover World Cup security and logistics. Douglas Hanks june 17, Miami Herald, 17 June 2026 Flames crept across a Rio Linda meadow Tuesday as firefighters from three agencies intentionally set fire to 35 acres of dry grass — not to battle a wildfire, but to prevent one. Sacbee.com, 17 June 2026 Every day, the snow crept farther down the mountains, and as the horses waded the creeks, ice froze on their tails and bellies. Dolores Brown, Outdoor Life, 17 June 2026 The heat of summer has crept back to Milwaukee. Blaise Mesa, jsonline.com, 17 June 2026 But in recent years, tipping fatigue has crept in across restaurants, coffee shops and other venues, especially those that use self-checkout screens. Jessica Mekles, FOXNews.com, 14 June 2026 Mold quickly crept across the fabric. Beatrice Peterson, ABC News, 14 June 2026 During my first walks, doubts crept in. Diane Penningroth, Midwest Living, 12 June 2026 My oldest, 9, had crept downstairs from her bed to catch some of the game. Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 11 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crept
Verb
  • Kenya has experienced incidents of land grabbing in the past, and environmentalists have often spoken out when parks and other green spaces are encroached upon.
    ABC News, ABC News, 8 June 2026
  • Cuba has long defended its decision to shoot down the planes, insisting that Brothers to the Rescue had encroached on the country's sovereignty.
    Joe Walsh, CBS News, 18 May 2026
Verb
  • Yet, the same themes of access and power have lingered around the presidency in the eight decades since.
    Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 25 June 2026
  • The claim that creatine causes hair loss has lingered since 2009, shaping decisions for gym-goers and athletes weighing whether to add it to their routine.
    Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 24 June 2026
Verb
  • Street sweepers and garbage trucks crawled through roads fans had packed hours earlier.
    C.J. Holmes, New York Daily News, 18 June 2026
  • Last December, a rat appeared from the overhead bins and crawled behind a curtain in the cabin while a flight was en route from Amsterdam to Aruba, according to previous reporting from USA TODAY.
    Drew Pittock, USA Today, 17 June 2026
Verb
  • In that second leadership election, he was roundly defeated by Jeremy Corbyn, a veteran socialist whose victory dragged the party leftwards.
    Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 20 June 2026
  • As the Bucks dragged their feet on the Antetokounmpo situation, a number of other teams gave up on the season entirely.
    Bryan Toporek, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026
Verb
  • The theory here is that avarice and ambition can best be defeated by means of somebody else’s avarice and ambition; power’s inevitable corrupting effect is thereby mitigated or delayed.
    Ann Manov, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026
  • Automatic contributions, delayed payment windows, small rituals that add friction to impulse spending — these are all behavioral architecture moves, not acts of self-denial.
    Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026
Verb
  • Call slid across the plate as the throw from Orioles right fielder Tyler O’Neill took for a long hop to catcher Samuel Basallo.
    Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2026
  • Cannabis tax revenue there surged until 2021, peaked at $396 million, then slid to about $221 million in 2025, highlighting that cannabis tax revenue doesn’t just keep climbing forever.
    Dario Sabaghi, Forbes.com, 20 June 2026
Verb
  • After about 10 minutes of sitting frozen in place, the seven-year-old shuffled out of the room with his mother, sister and grandmother.
    Grant Stringer, Mercury News, 18 June 2026
  • The outsize failings of the men in power demand a grand reimagining of the consequences of those failings, and Helen of Nowhere offers up, exhilaratingly and naughtily, a myth for the man who needs to be shuffled offstage one way or another.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 June 2026
Verb
  • Griffin also poked at the cohosts in the immediate aftermath of Hasselbeck and former View moderator Rosie O'Donnell's legendary on-air fight in 2007, as Griffin was a guest host the following day and brought up the incident numerous times — which annoyed Walters in the moment.
    Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 24 June 2026
  • Late in the third, the Knights seemed to retake the lead after Pavel Dorofeyev poked home a loose puck.
    Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 16 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Crept.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crept. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.

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