creep

verb

/kriːp/

In sense 5 and in the phrasal verb creep somebody out, creeped is used for the past simple and past participle.

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they creep	/kriːp/ /kriːp/
he / she / it creeps	/kriːps/ /kriːps/
past simple crept	/krept/ /krept/
past participle crept	/krept/ /krept/
-ing form creeping	/ˈkriːpɪŋ/ /ˈkriːpɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

[intransitive] (+ adv./prep.) (of people or animals) to move slowly, quietly and carefully, because you do not want to be seen or heard悄悄地缓慢行进；蹑手蹑脚地移动
- I crept up the stairs, trying not to wake my parents.为了尽量不吵醒父母，我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
- I heard someone creeping around the house.我听到有人在房子周围爬行。
Extra Examples
- He crept stealthily along the corridor.他沿着走廊蹑手蹑脚地走。
- He crept up behind me.他在我身后悄悄地跟了上来。
- I could hear someone creeping around downstairs.我能听见楼下有人蹑手蹑脚地来回走动。
- He crept forward towards the sound of voices.他朝声音传来的地方蹑手蹑脚地走去。
- She crept into her sister's room.她偷偷溜进了姐姐的房间。
- The cat was creeping stealthily through the long grass.那只猫正悄无声息地慢慢爬过高高的草丛。
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- quietly
- silently
- slowly
- …
preposition
- along
- down
- into
- …
[intransitive] (+ adv./prep.) (North American English) to move with your body close to the ground; to move slowly on your hands and knees匍匐行进；爬行 synonym crawl
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- quietly
- silently
- slowly
- …
preposition
- along
- down
- into
- …
[intransitive] (+ adv./prep.) to move or develop very slowly非常缓慢地行进；不知不觉产生；渐渐出现
- Her arms crept around his neck.她的双臂慢慢地搂住了他的脖子。
- A slight feeling of suspicion crept over me.我渐渐地产生了一丝疑虑。
Extra Examples
- A feeling of dread crept over him.他渐渐感觉到一种恐惧。
- Trucks are creeping along Interstate 70 in convoys.卡车一辆辆缓慢地在70号州际公路上行驶。
[intransitive] (+ adv./prep.) (of plants) to grow along the ground or up walls using long stems or roots蔓生；蔓延 see also creeper
[intransitive] creep (to somebody) (British English, informal, disapproving) to be too friendly or helpful to somebody in authority in a way that is not sincere, especially in order to get an advantage from them谄媚；巴结；拍马屁
- He's always creeping to the boss.他总是偷偷摸摸地去找老板。

Word OriginOld English crēopan ‘move with the body close to the ground’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch kruipen. Sense 1 of the verb dates from Middle English.

Idioms

make your flesh creep

to make you feel afraid or full of horror使人毛骨悚然；让人起鸡皮疙瘩
- Just the sight of him makes my flesh creep.光是看到他就让我浑身起鸡皮疙瘩。
- The story made his flesh creep.这个故事让他毛骨悚然。
Topics Feelingsc2

creep

noun

/kriːp/

Idioms

[countable] (informal) a person that you dislike very much and find very unpleasant讨厌鬼
- He's a nasty little creep!他这小子真让人讨厌！
- You little creep!你这个小变态！
[countable] (British English, informal) a person who is not sincere but tries to win your approval by being nice to you讨好卖乖的人；谄媚奉承的人；马屁精
- He’s the sort of creep who would do that kind of thing!他就是那种会做出这种事的变态！
[uncountable] (often in compounds) (often disapproving) the development of a project beyond the goal that was originally agreed（对既定目标的）偏离
- The World Bank has been accused of mission creep when seeking to address these concerns.世界银行被指控在寻求处理这些重大事务时偏离使命。
- The inclusion of health data on identity cards was condemned as function creep.在身份证中包含健康资料被谴责为超出功能范围。
- creep of something We need to prevent this slow creep of costs.我们需要防止成本逐渐攀升。
- The creep of suburban shopping malls is shrinking the countryside.郊区购物中心的蔓延正在缩小乡村面积。
Topics Change, cause and effectc2

Word OriginOld English crēopan ‘move with the body close to the ground’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch kruipen. Sense 1 of the verb dates from Middle English.

Idioms

give somebody the creeps

(informal) to make somebody feel nervous and slightly frightened, especially because somebody/something is unpleasant or strange吓人；使惊慌；使心里发毛
- This old house gives me the creeps.这座老房子让我毛骨悚然。
Topics Feelingsc2