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Showing results for "creeping"

present participle of creep.

Synonyms

creeping

American

[kree-ping] / ˈkri pɪŋ /

noun

Slang. the act or practice of following someone persistently or stealthily, especially online.

Twitter and LinkedIn creeping is a normal part of my day.

adjective

advancing or developing gradually so as to infringe on or supplant something else.

creeping inflation;
creeping socialism.

Etymology

Origin of creeping

creep + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Creeping out of the house each morning, pretending to go to work, Zora wanders from coffee shop to park bench, ignoring Tuesday’s calls.

From New York Times • Jun. 6, 2024

They mingle with puffy red and fuchsia dahlias and purple phlox, as well as hydrangeas, sedum and Creeping Jenny, a ground cover that doubles as paths for strolling.

From Seattle Times • May 22, 2024

The Zutons' new album, The Big Decider, is out on 26 April and their latest single, Creeping On The Dancefloor, is out now.

From BBC • Mar. 7, 2024

Creeping us out is a bonus; the writers much prefer to be wicked, which is much funnier.

From Salon • Jul. 25, 2021

Creeping along the shadows toward home, we saw an orange glow beyond a corner and heard a strange sound, like a fierce gust of wind.

From "Milkweed" by Jerry Spinelli

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.