Dictionary.com
definitions

crept

[krept]
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR crept ON THESAURUS.COM

verb

simple past tense and past participle of creep.
Can be confusedcrap crape crepe crêpe, crept

creep

[kreep]

verb (used without object), crept, creep·ing.

to move slowly with the body close to the ground, as a reptile or an insect, or a person on hands and knees.
to approach slowly, imperceptibly, or stealthily (often followed by up): We crept up and peeked over the wall.
to move or advance slowly or gradually: The automobile crept up the hill. Time just seems to creep along on these hot summer days.
to sneak up behind someone or without someone's knowledge (usually followed by up on): The prisoners crept up on the guard and knocked him out.
to enter or become evident inconspicuously, gradually, or insidiously (often followed by in or into:) The writer's personal bias occasionally creeps into the account.
to move or behave timidly or servilely.
to grow along the ground, a wall, etc., as a plant.
to advance or develop gradually so as to infringe on or supplant something else.
Slang.
  1. to flirt with or make persistent sexual advances toward someone (often followed by on): He creeps on all the women he meets.
  2. to cheat on one’s sexual partner: He caught his wife creepin' with the guy who lives next-door.
Slang. to follow someone persistently or stealthily, as on a social media website (often followed by on): He spends a lot of time creeping on her Facebook profile.
Slang. to suddenly intrude into someone’s photograph as it is being taken: Who’s that creeping in the background of the picture?
to slip, slide, or shift gradually; become displaced.
(of a metal object) to become deformed, as under continuous loads or at high temperatures.
Nautical. to grapple (usually followed by for): The ships crept for their anchor chains.

verb (used with object), crept, creep·ing.

Slang. to follow persistently or stealthily, especially online: I’ve been creeping her blog and found some great recipes.
Archaic. to creep along or over.

noun

an act or instance of creeping: It seems as if time has slowed to a creep.
Slang. an obnoxious, disturbingly eccentric, deviant, or painfully introverted person.
Slang. an intelligence or counterintelligence agent; spy.
Slang. creeper(def 10).
a gradual or inconspicuous increase, advance, change, or development: Avoid jargon creep in your writing. We are seeing the steady creep of consumerism.
Geology.
  1. the gradual movement downhill of loose soil, rock, gravel, etc.; solifluction.
  2. the slow deformation of solid rock resulting from constant stress applied over long periods.
Mechanics. the gradual, permanent deformation of a body produced by a continued application of heat or stress.
a grappling iron; grapnel.
Firearms. the slack in a trigger mechanism before it releases the firing pin.
creep feeder.
the creeps, Informal. a sensation of horror, fear, disgust, etc., suggestive of the feeling induced by something crawling over the skin: That horror movie gave me the creeps.

Origin of creep

before 900; Middle English crepen, Old English crēopan; cognate with Dutch kruipen, Old Norse krjūpa
Related formscreep·ing·ly, adverbnon·creep·ing, adjectiveout·creep, verb (used with object), out·crept, out·creep·ing.un·creep·ing, adjective

Synonyms for creep

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR creep ON THESAURUS.COM
3. inch, crawl, dawdle, poke.

Synonym study

1. See crawl1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for crept

slither, glide, slink, lurk, sneak, tiptoe, wriggle, snake, inch, pussyfoot, squirm, insinuate, skulk, writhe, grovel, edge, gumshoe, steal, scramble, worm

Examples from the Web for crept

Contemporary Examples of crept

Historical Examples of crept

  • A new respect for him, also a new pity that was generous and not contemptuous, crept into his heart.

    Viviette

    William J. Locke

  • Hester crept gently towards it, and Amy after her, not attempting to stop her.

    Weighed and Wanting

    George MacDonald

  • Into these last words there crept the pathos of one who knew.

    Within the Law

    Marvin Dana

  • And into his thoughts now crept a doubt, one that alarmed his sense of justice.

    Within the Law

    Marvin Dana

  • We crept along the cañon rim and saw our man at the bottom of it.

    The Trail Book

    Mary Austin

British Dictionary definitions for crept

crept

verb

the past tense and past participle of creep

creep

verb creeps, creeping or crept (intr)

to crawl with the body near to or touching the ground
to move slowly, quietly, or cautiously
to act in a servile way; fawn; cringe
to move or slip out of place, as from pressure or wear
(of plants) to grow along the ground or over rocks, producing roots, suckers, or tendrils at intervals
(of a body or substance) to become permanently deformed as a result of an applied stress, often when combined with heating
to develop graduallycreeping unrest
to have the sensation of something crawling over the skin
(of metals) to undergo slow plastic deformation

noun

the act of creeping or a creeping movement
slang a person considered to be obnoxious or servile
the continuous permanent deformation of a body or substance as a result of stress or heat
geology the gradual downwards movement of loose rock material, soil, etc, on a slope
a slow relative movement of two adjacent parts, structural components, etc
slow plastic deformation of metals
See also creeps

Word Origin for creep

Old English crēopan; related to Old Frisian kriāpa, Old Norse krjūpa, Middle Low German krūpen
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for crept

past tense and past participle of creep (v.).

creep

v.

Old English creopan "to creep" (class II strong verb; past tense creap, past participle cropen), from Proto-Germanic *kreupanan (cf. Old Frisian kriapa, Middle Dutch crupen, Old Norse krjupa "to creep"), from PIE root *greug-. Related: Crept; creeping.

creep

n.

"a creeping motion," 1818, from creep (v.). Meaning "despicable person" is 1935, American English slang, perhaps from earlier sense of "sneak thief" (1914). Creeper "a gilded rascal" is recorded from c.1600, and the word also was used of certain classes of thieves, especially those who robbed customers in brothels. The creeps "a feeling of dread or revulsion" first attested 1849, in Dickens.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with crept

creep

In addition to the idiom beginning with creep

  • creep up on

also see:

  • make one's flesh creep
  • the creeps
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.