creep

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 byup ).

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.

Synonyms:

poke, dawdle, crawl, inch

to sneak up behind someone or without someone's knowledge (usually followed byup 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 orinto: ) 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 byon ).

   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 byon ).

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 byfor ).

The ships crept for their anchor chains.

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.

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.

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.

Informal. the creeps, 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.

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 gradually

creeping unrest

to have the sensation of something crawling over the skin

(of metals) to undergo slow plastic deformation