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Creeper
Definitions
- 1 A person or a thing that crawls or creeps.
"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;"
- 2 any of various small insectivorous birds of the Northern Hemisphere that climb up a tree trunk supporting themselves on stiff tail feathers and their feet wordnet
- 3 Any creeping animal (such as a serpent), reptile.
- 4 a person who crawls or creeps along the ground wordnet
- 5 A one-piece garment for infants designed to facilitate access to the wearer's diaper. in-plural, often
Show 16 more definitions
- 6 any plant (as ivy or periwinkle) that grows by creeping wordnet
- 7 A device which allows a small child to safely roam around a room from a seated or standing position.
- 8 A metal plate with spikes, designed to be worn with shoes to prevent slipping.
- 9 A spur-like device strapped to the boot to facilitate climbing.
- 10 A small low iron, or dog, between the andirons. in-plural
- 11 An instrument with iron hooks or claws for dredging up items from a well or other water.
- 12 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.
- 13 Any plant (as ivy or periwinkle) that grows by creeping, especially a climbing plant of the genus Parthenocissus.
"Then the piglet tore loose from the creepers and scurried into the undergrowth."
- 14 A treecreeper.
- 15 Strophitus undulatus, a freshwater mussel of the eastern United States.
- 16 A small four-hooked grapnel used to recover objects dropped onto the sea bed.
- 17 The lowest gear of some tractors or trucks: one with so low a gear ratio that the vehicle creeps along at the speed of a human's slow walk.
"Throwing it in creeper and then getting out to work alongside is strictly forbidden because it is too dangerous if anything goes wrong."
- 18 A low-profile wheeled platform whereupon one may lie on one's back and gain better access to the roof of a space with very low height (such as the underbody of a vehicle), or a low stool similarly wheeled.
"If my phone rings while I'm on a creeper underneath the car with oil on my hands, well, the caller will just have to leave a voicemail."
- 19 A person who creeps people out; a creepy person. derogatory, slang
"Don't go to a nightclub to find a boyfriend. They're all creepers there."
- 20 A kind of shoe, usually with a suede upper and a thick crepe sole, associated with various 20th-century subcultures.
- 21 A ball that travels low, near ground level.
"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."
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).
See also for "creeper"
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