creeper

[ kree-per ]

noun

1. a person or thing that creeps.
2. Botany. a plant that grows upon or just beneath the surface of the ground, or upon any other surface, sending out rootlets from the stem, as ivy and couch grass.
3. Often creepers. a one-piece garment for an infant, the lower portion resembling briefs or having legs extending to the knees, with snaps across the crotch for convenience in diapering.
4. Chiefly Northeastern U.S. a spiked iron plate worn on the shoe to prevent slipping on ice, rock, etc.
5. Also called brothel creeper. Informal. a shoe with a thick, soft sole:

   She wore a miniskirt and creepers.

6. Also called cradle. Automotive. a flat framework on casters, on which a mechanic lies while working under an automobile or the like.
7. Ornithology. any of various birds that creep or climb about on trees, especially of the family Certhiidae, as Certhia americana brown creeper, or tree creeper, of the Northern Hemisphere.
8. a domestic fowl having malformed, short legs, due to a genetic defect.
9. a grappling device for dragging a river, lake, etc.
10. Also creep. Slang. a sneak thief.
11. Slang. a person who makes persistent sexual advances toward someone, or who cheats on a sexual partner.
12. Slang. creep ( def 18 ).
13. Slang. a person who follows someone persistently or stealthily; a stalker.

creeper

/ ˈkriːpə /

noun

1. a person or animal that creeps
2. a plant, such as the ivy or periwinkle, that grows by creeping
3. Also calledtree creeper any small songbird of the family Certhiidae of the N hemisphere, having a brown-and-white plumage and slender downward-curving bill. They creep up trees to feed on insects
4. a hooked instrument for dragging deep water
5. Also calledcradle a flat board or framework mounted on casters, used to lie on when working under cars
6. Also calleddaisy cutter cricket a bowled ball that keeps low or travels along the ground
7. either of a pair of low iron supports for logs in a hearth
8. informal.
   a shoe with a soft sole

Word History and Origins

Origin of creeper¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English crepere, Old English crēopere; creep, -er ¹

Example Sentences

A conservation ecologist from Salt Lake’s Tracy Aviary will be along to help distinguish nuthatches from creepers.

From Outside Online

The quintessential creeper is Alex, a 29-year-old who “dates online because it makes getting laid a lot easier.”

From The Daily Beast

The streets beyond were exotic, dangerous, strange—shanties and creeper weed, the mountains marking the horizon.

From The Daily Beast

His beautiful forked horns were caught up in a creeper hanging from a tree, from which he was trying to free himself.

From Project Gutenberg

Her restless fingers began to gather the red leaves that already variegated the foliage of the creeper shading the porch.

From Project Gutenberg

They were riding single file along a narrow jungle-path when Koyala's horse stumbled over a hidden creeper.

From Project Gutenberg

It is our old friend the bougainvillea, but here it grows into a great tree instead of a creeper.

From Project Gutenberg

Such a lovely house, half covered with purple clematis and Virginia creeper, and a dear little chapel, and beautiful grounds!

From Project Gutenberg