Dictionary

becreep en · VERB

Etymology

Borrowed from Afrikaans bekruip, or alternatively from Dutch bekruipen, both from Middle Dutch becrûpen, equivalent to be- + creep.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To creep up on; stalk
   • "Ja, baas," he said; "I shall becreep them. […]" 2015, Henry Bryden, The Gold Kloof:
   • “Two o'clock am a troop of buffaloes came to drink at our pool and one of my boys, whose leg had been broken last year by an elephant, becrept them and shot one which turned out to be in good condition. […]" 2008, Richard Sampson, White Induna, page 33:
   • Or malachite in green coprolitic stools like small stone turds becrept a brassy green. 2010, Cormac McCarthy, Suttree, page 276:
   • But they, seeing that there was not sufficient cover for them to “becreep” the rhinoceros with safety, allowed Robert to go on alone. 1838, Sir James Edward Alexander, An Expedition of Discovery Into the Interior of Africa:

Forms