creep

[[t]krip[/t]]

v. crept or, sometimes, creeped; creep•ing, n.

1) to move slowly with the body close to the ground, on hands and knees, or the like

2) to approach slowly and stealthily (often fol. by up)

3) to advance slowly and often with difficulty:

The car crept up the hill[/ex]

4) to sneak up behind someone (usu. fol. by up on):

The prisoner crept up on the guard and knocked him out[/ex]

5) to become evident gradually (often fol. by in or into):

The writer's bias creeps into the story[/ex]

6) bot to grow along the ground, a wall, etc., as a plant

7) to slip, slide, or shift gradually

8) mel (of a metal object) to become deformed, as under continuous loads or at high temperatures

9) archaic to creep along or over

10) an act or instance of creeping

11) sts Slang. an eccentric or obnoxious person

12)

a) gel the gradual movement downhill of loose soil, rock, gravel, etc.; solifluction

b) gel the slow deformation of solid rock resulting from constant stress applied over long periods

13) mec Mech. the gradual, permanent deformation of a body produced by a continued application of heat or stress

14) inf the creeps, a sensation of fear, disgust, or the like, as of something crawling over the skin:

That movie gave me the creeps[/ex]

•

- make one's flesh creep

Etymology: bef. 900; ME crepen, OE crēopan; c. OS criopan, ON krjūpa