creep en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- [kʰɹiːp]
- (US) audio
- /kɹiːp/
- krēp
Etymology
From Middle English crepen, from Old English crēopan (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-West Germanic *kreupan, from Proto-Germanic *kreupaną (“to twist, creep”), from Proto-Indo-European *grewbʰ- (“to turn, wind”). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian krûpe (“to creep, crawl”), Central Franconian kruffe (“to creep, crawl”), Dutch kruipen (“to creep, crawl”), Low German krepen, krupen (“to creep, crawl”), Danish krybe (“to creep”), Faroese krúpa (“to creep”), Icelandic krjúpa (“to kneel down, to genuflect, to get down on one's knees”), Norwegian Bokmål krype (“to creep”), Norwegian Nynorsk krjupa, krjupe, krypa, krype (“to creep, crawl”), Swedish krypa (“to creep, crawl”). The noun is derived from the verb. Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *grewbʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *kreupaną Proto-West Germanic *kreupan Old English crēopan Middle English crepen English creep
Meanings
- (countable, uncountable) The movement of something that creeps (like worms or snails).
- (countable, uncountable) A relatively small gradual change, variation or deviation (from a planned value) in a measure.
- (countable, uncountable) A slight displacement of an object; the slight movement of something.
-
(uncountable) The gradual expansion or proliferation of something beyond its original goals or boundaries, considered negatively.
feature creep
instruction creep
Christmas creep
mission creep
- (countable, uncountable) In sewn books, the tendency of pages on the inside of a quire to stand out farther than those on the outside of it.
- (countable, qualifier:materials science, uncountable) An increase in strain with time; the gradual flow or deformation of a material under stress.
- (countable, uncountable) The imperceptible downslope movement of surface rock.
-
(countable, derogatory, informal, uncountable) Someone creepy (annoyingly unpleasant), especially one who is strange or eccentric.
"You mentioned some others," I said. "More creeps," she told me. '"That guy was plain looking for trouble. You know, he starts hanging out with some of the shooters Whitey Tass keeps around, angling for an introduction to the big man himself, and he's damn lucky he got picked up by the fuzz before Whitey got sore. He runs too big an operation in the city to be bugged by a pig like Yard. One day Lou Steubal tried to get an inside track with Whitey, levering him on account of what Whitey did to his sister, and they found Lou in the drink. It looked like Lou got gassed up and fell in, but don't try to tell me that. Whitey had him tapped out."
1968, Mickey Spillane, Delta Factor:[…]the catalyst was getting locked in the bathroom of her office with her landlord. "Two hours with that creep," she said. "You can't believe it[…]he got a ladder and came through the bathroom window and almost broke his balls on that pointed tampax box he made us buy. He brought hammers and screws and drills, but we were trapped. It got dark[…]He kept chipping away at the lock, and between the chipping he talked to me about his back and a couple of knee-operations. Finally someone tapped on the door from the outside and it opened, just like that.[…]"
1992, Thaisa Frank, A Brief History of Camouflage, page 113:"Outrageous!" said Tylan. "You know, without Fingers and baby Trev, we could have won." "Yeah, Trevor, what a creep — running off home at half-time like that," said Frankie.
1995, Bob Cattell, Glory in the Cup, page 36:"Why're you working your butt off for that creep? He takes your money, borrows your car, and treats you like shit. Can't you tell he's on drugs?"
1994, Bapsi Sidhwa, An American Brat, page 168:But I'm a creep / I'm a weirdo / What the hell am I doing here? / I don't belong here
1992, “Creep”, in Pablo Honey, performed by Radiohead:
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(countable, derogatory, especially, informal, uncountable) A person who engages in sexually inappropriate behaviour or sexual harassment.
It was whispered that the priest was a pervert. Was he? The girls said he was a creep. I didn't quite know what it meant to be a creep, but it was obviously not a good thing. It was said that he sometimes fondled the girls, their breasts, and said lousy things to them, that they were beautiful or something like that.[…]Disgusting guys. I thought the guy at Bústaðir was a creep. An old man who liked to dance.
2016, Jón Gnarr, Hrefna Lind Heimisdóttir, translated by Lytton Smith, The Pirate, page 201:Saiera shuddered through an exaggerated shiver. "He's a creep. He was a creep in high school, and he's been a creep ever since. Look..." She flipped to the index, found what she was looking for, and fanned the pages until she reached the one she wanted. "Here he is. A young Andy Gluck, chubby as a penguin, stared out of the page from behind round wire-frame glasses. A camera hung from a strap around his neck. […] "He doesn't look creepy," I said. "Kind of nerdy, in a harmless way. "Looks can be deceiving. See that camera? He was always going around with that camera, snapping pictures. Some girls caught him trying to get 'up skirt' shots while they sat at their desks.[…]"
2022, Scott Bell, Pest Cemetery, page 235:
- (countable, uncountable) A barrier with small openings used to keep large animals out while allowing smaller animals to pass through.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| creeps | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Coordinates
Deriveds
sheep creep (gradual expansion or proliferation, negatively) · lifestyle creep (gradual expansion or proliferation, negatively) · creep shot (frightening and/or disconcerting person) · text creep (gradual expansion or proliferation, negatively) · power creep (gradual expansion or proliferation, negatively) · Pollyanna creep (gradual expansion or proliferation, negatively) · upcreep (creeping movement) · Democreep (frightening and/or disconcerting person) · creepdar (frightening and/or disconcerting person) · season creep (gradual expansion or proliferation, negatively) · creeptastic (other terms) · tip creep (gradual expansion or proliferation, negatively) · feature creep (gradual expansion or proliferation, negatively) · diffusion creep (gradual expansion or proliferation, negatively) · creepsome (other terms) · downhill creep (creeping movement) · function creep (gradual expansion or proliferation, negatively) · dislocation creep (gradual expansion or proliferation, negatively) · mission creep (gradual expansion or proliferation, negatively) · requirement creep (gradual expansion or proliferation, negatively) · Coble creep (gradual expansion or proliferation, negatively) · creepmeter (creeping movement) · focus creep (gradual expansion or proliferation, negatively) · creepware (other terms) · creepo (other terms) · Eurocreep (gradual expansion or proliferation, negatively) · creepshot (other terms) · creepify (other terms) · creepish (other terms) · Eurocreep (frightening and/or disconcerting person) · creeptacular (other terms) · Christmas creep (gradual expansion or proliferation, negatively) · creepfest (other terms) · soil creep (creeping movement) · bracket creep (gradual expansion or proliferation, negatively) · Nabarro-Herring creep (gradual expansion or proliferation, negatively) · scope creep (gradual expansion or proliferation, negatively) · cattle creep (gradual expansion or proliferation, negatively) · creep-shame (frightening and/or disconcerting person) · creep joint (other terms) · instruction creep (gradual expansion or proliferation, negatively)
Synonyms
creepoid · creepazoid · perv · creeper · cold flow · pervert
Translations (54)
fi nilkki (informal: annoyingly unpleasant person) · nl kruip (movement of something that creeps) · es desgraciado (informal: annoyingly unpleasant person) · es alimaña (informal: annoyingly unpleasant person) · bg пълзене (movement of something that creeps) · fi hyypiö (pejorative: frightening or disconcerting person) · es depravado (informal: annoyingly unpleasant person) · it ruffiano (informal: annoyingly unpleasant person) · fr rampement (movement of something that creeps) · pt rastejo (movement of something that creeps) · cmn 潛變 /潜变 (gradual deformation of material under stress) · fi ryömintä (small gradual change in a measure) · ro ciudat (pejorative: frightening or disconcerting person) · nl griezel (informal: annoyingly unpleasant person) · it scollamento (geology: imperceptible downslope movement of surface) · fa خزیدن (movement of something that creeps) · es deformación por fluencia lenta (gradual deformation of material under stress) · fi ryömintä (movement of something that creeps) · fr fatigue (gradual deformation of material under stress) · ru по́лзание (movement of something that creeps) · ru отморо́зок (pejorative: frightening or disconcerting person) · fr fluage (gradual deformation of material under stress) · nl engerd (pejorative: frightening or disconcerting person) · it spostamento (slight displacement) · fi karmio (informal: annoyingly unpleasant person) · hu csúszás-mászás (movement of something that creeps) · it antipatico (informal: annoyingly unpleasant person) · fi viruminen (gradual deformation of material under stress) · it deriva (slight displacement) · fi matelu (movement of something that creeps) · fi kyylä (pejorative: frightening or disconcerting person) · sv äckel (informal: annoyingly unpleasant person) · it strisciare (movement of something that creeps) · de Widerling (pejorative: frightening or disconcerting person) · sv äckelpotta (informal: annoyingly unpleasant person) · cmn 蠕變 /蠕变 (gradual deformation of material under stress) · pt esquisito (pejorative: frightening or disconcerting person) · de kriechen (movement of something that creeps) · ru сполза́ние (slight displacement) · bg свличане (geology: imperceptible downslope movement of surface) · de Kriechen (gradual deformation of material under stress) · de Knilch (informal: annoyingly unpleasant person) · kk жылжыпсырғымалық (gradual deformation of material under stress) · ru уро́д (pejorative: frightening or disconcerting person) · bg пълзене (small gradual change in a measure) · it scorrimento (slight displacement) · de Widerling (informal: annoyingly unpleasant person) · fr reptation (geology: imperceptible downslope movement of surface) · nl engerd (informal: annoyingly unpleasant person) · fi liikahdus (slight displacement) · cy sbrych (pejorative: frightening or disconcerting person) · sv miffo (informal: annoyingly unpleasant person) · ru хмырь (informal: annoyingly unpleasant person) · it lecchino (informal: annoyingly unpleasant person)