creep

verb (past and past participle crept /krɛpt/)

• 1 [usually with adverbial of direction] move slowly and carefully in order to avoid being heard or noticed:he crept downstairs, hardly making any noise they were taught how to creep up on an enemy
• (of a thing) move very slowly and inexorably:the fog was creeping up from the marsh
• (of a plant) grow along the ground or other surface by means of extending stems or branches: (as adjective creeping)tufts of fine leaves grow on creeping rhizomes
• (of a plastic solid) undergo gradual deformation under stress.

• 2 (creep in/into) (of a negative characteristic or fact) occur or develop gradually and almost imperceptibly:errors crept into his game (as adjective creeping)the creeping privatization of the health service
• (creep up) increase slowly but steadily in number or amount:gas prices have been creeping up for a while

noun

• 1 informal a detestable person: I thought he was a nasty little creep
• a person who behaves obsequiously in the hope of advancement.

• 2 [mass noun] slow steady movement, especially when imperceptible:an attempt to prevent this slow creep of costs
• the tendency of a car with automatic transmission to move when in gear without the accelerator being pressed: creep can be useful in slow-moving traffic or when parking
• the gradual downward movement of disintegrated rock or soil due to gravity: stones and earth slowly slip down the slopes by soil creep
• the gradual deformation of a plastic solid under stress: metals and ceramics can also exhibit creep
• gradual bulging of the floor of a mine owing to pressure on the pillars:the mines were unworkable because of creep

• 3British an opening in a hedge or wall for an animal to pass through: low in the wall are creeps, through which ewes gain access to grazing from the pastures behind
• a feeding enclosure for young animals, with a long, narrow entrance: young piglets spend most of their time in the creep

• 4 [mass noun] British solid food given to young farm animals in order to wean them: we’ve started to wean the lambs earlier and to keep them on creep