creeper

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).

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkɹipɚ/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːpə(ɹ)

creeper (plural creepers)

1. A person or a thing that crawls or creeps.

   Synonym: crawler

   • 1638 [1621], Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy‎^[1], 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^[2], archived from the original on 16 May 2020:

     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.

2. Any creeping animal (such as a serpent), reptile.
3. (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, onesie, snapsuit

4. A device which allows a small child to safely roam around a room from a seated or standing position.
5. A metal plate with spikes, designed to be worn with shoes to prevent slipping.
6. A spur-like device strapped to the boot to facilitate climbing.
7. (chiefly in the plural) A small low iron, or dog, between the andirons.
8. An instrument with iron hooks or claws for dredging up items from a well or other water.
9. 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.
11. 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.

12. A treecreeper.
13. Strophitus undulatus, a freshwater mussel of the eastern United States.
14. (nautical) A small four-hooked grapnel used to recover objects dropped onto the sea bed.
16. 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.

    Synonyms: creeper gear, creeper shift

    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.

    Synonym: (lie-down type) cradle

    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.

    • 2022 September 19, HarryBlank, “Beyond Repair”, in SCP Foundation‎^[3], archived from the original on 15 September 2024:

      "Yeah." It was him, alright; if the world's weariest pair of workboots hadn't tipped her off, his world-weary voice certainly would have. "Where were you?"
      "My quarters. We've got a full ticket set today, and techs work best without oversight." Neither of these things was untrue, though the curation was more than a little dishonest.
      "Maybe yours do." Nascimbeni rolled out, back flat against a neon orange creeper, and sat up with an audible wince. "Mine fuck the dog."

20. (derogatory, slang) A person who creeps people out; a creepy person.

    Synonyms: creep, creepazoid, creepoid

    Don't go to a nightclub to find a boyfriend. They're all creepers there.

21. A kind of shoe, usually with a suede upper and a thick crepe sole, associated with various 20th-century subcultures.
22. (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.

• (shoe): brothel creeper
• (plant): Virginia creeper