creeper
English
Etymology
From Middle English crepere, from Old English crēopere, equivalent to creep + -er.
Slang usage derived from phrase give the creeps or creep out (distinct from merely one who creeps).
Pronunciation
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈkɹipɚ/
Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -iːpə(ɹ)
Noun
creeper (plural creepers)
- A person or a thing that crawls or creeps.
- Synonym: crawler
- 1638 [1621], Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, page 71:
- Standing Waters […] are most unwholesome, putrified, and full of mites, creepers, slimy, muddy, uncleane, corrupt, impure, by reason of the Suns heat, and still standing;
- 2020 May 7, Katie Rife, “If you’re looking to jump in your seat, make a playdate with Z”, in The Onion AV Club:
- With his presence marked by shots of children’s toys overlaid with ominous music, Z is more of a creeper than a reaper—until a shocking, sudden moment midway through the film.
- (often in the plural) A one-piece garment for infants designed to facilitate access to the wearer's diaper.
- Synonyms: babygro, creepers, diaper shirt, infant bodysuit, snapsuit
- A device which allows a small child to safely roam around a room from a seated or standing position.
- A metal plate with spikes, designed to be worn with shoes to prevent slipping.
- A spur-like device strapped to the boot to facilitate climbing.
- (chiefly in the plural) A small low iron, or dog, between the andirons.
- An instrument with iron hooks or claws for dredging up items from a well or other water.
- Any device for causing material to move steadily from one part of a machine to another, such as an apron in a carding machine, or an inner spiral in a grain screen.
- Any plant (as ivy or periwinkle) that grows by creeping, especially a climbing plant of the genus Parthenocissus.
- Synonym: climber
- 1964, William Golding, Lord of the Flies
- Then the piglet tore loose from the creepers and scurried into the undergrowth.
- A treecreeper.
- (nautical) A small four-hooked grapnel used to recover objects dropped onto the sea bed.
- The lowest gear of a tractor or truck.
- Synonyms: creeper gear, creeper shift
- A low-profile wheeled platform whereupon an auto mechanic may lie on their back and gain better access to the underbody of a vehicle.
- Synonym: cradle
- (derogatory, slang) A person who creeps people out; a creepy person.
- Don't go to a nightclub to find a boyfriend. They're all creepers there.
- A kind of shoe, usually with a suede upper and a thick crepe sole, associated with various 20th-century subcultures.
- (cricket) A ball that travels low, near ground level.
- 2009, Steven Lynch, Wisden on the Ashes (page 292)
- May joined Hutton and proceeded to play masterly cricket in which the straight-drive predominated. There was always the possibility that he might be trapped by a creeper, but May watched the ball intently.
- 2009, Steven Lynch, Wisden on the Ashes (page 292)
Derived terms
- (shoe): brothel creeper
- (plant): Virginia creeper
other derived terms
- brown creeper
- canary creeper
- elephant creeper
- hedge creeper
- Rangoon creeper
- trumpet creeper
Translations
person or thing that creeps
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one-piece garment for infants
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device for children
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metal plate for shoes
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plant
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treecreeper — see treecreeper
grapnel
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lowest gear
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wheeled platform