creep

intr.v., crept (krĕpt), creep·ing, creeps.

1. To move with the body close to the ground, as on hands and knees.
2. 1. To move stealthily or cautiously.
   2. To move or proceed very slowly: Traffic creeps at that hour.
3. Botany.
   1. To grow or spread along a surface, rooting at intervals or clinging by means of suckers or tendrils.
   2. To grow horizontally under the ground, as the rhizomes of many plants.
4. To slip out of place; shift gradually.
5. To have a tingling sensation, made by or as if by things moving stealthily: a moan that made my flesh creep.

n.

1. The act of creeping; a creeping motion or progress.
2. Slang. An annoyingly unpleasant or repulsive person.
3. A slow flow of metal when under high temperature or great pressure.
4. A slow change in a characteristic of electronic equipment, such as a decrease in power with continued usage.
5. Geology. The slow movement of rock debris and soil down a weathered slope.
6. creeps Informal. A sensation of fear or repugnance, as if things were crawling on one's skin: That house gives me the creeps.

[Middle English crepen, from Old English crēopan.]

For more information on creep, visit Britannica.com.

The time-dependent strain occurring when solids are subjected to an applied stress. See also Stress and strain.

Some of the different kinds of creep phenomena that can be exhibited by materials are shown in the illustration. The strain ε = ΔL/L₀, in which L₀ is the initial length of a body and ΔL is its increase in length, is plotted against the time t for which it is subjected to an applied stress. The most common kind of creep response is represented by the curve A. Following the loading strain ε₀, the creep rate, as indicated by the slope of the curve, is high but decreases as the material deforms during the primary creep stage. At sufficiently large strains, the material creeps at a constant rate. This is called the secondary or steady-state creep stage. Ordinarily this is the most important stage of creep since the time to failure t_f is determined primarily by the secondary creep rate . In the case of tension creep, the secondary creep stage is eventually interrupted by the onset of tertiary creep, which is characterized by internal fracturing of the material, creep acceleration, and finally failure. The creep rate is usually very temperature-dependent. At low temperatures or applied stresses the time scale can be thousands of years or longer. At high temperatures the entire creep process can occur in a matter of seconds. Another kind of creep response is shown by curve B. This is the sort of strain-time behavior observed when the applied stress is partially or completely removed in the course of creep. This results in time-dependent or anelastic strain recovery.

Typical creep curves for materials.

Creep of materials often limits their use in engineering structures. The centrifugal forces acting on turbine blades cause them to extend by creep. In nuclear reactors the metal tubes that contain the fuel undergo creep in response to the pressures and forces exerted on them. In these examples the occurrence of creep is brought about by the need to operate these systems at the highest possible temperatures. Creep also occurs in ordinary structures. An example is found in prestressed concrete beams, which are held in compression by steel rods that extend through them. Creep and stress relaxation in the steel rods eventually leads to a reduction of the compression force acting in the beam, and this can result in failure. See also Prestressed concrete.

The mechanism of creep invariably involves the sliding motion of atoms or molecules past each other. In amorphous materials such as glasses, almost any atom or molecule within the material is free to slide past its neighbor in response to a shear stress. In plastics, the long molecular chains can slide past each other only to a limited extent. Such materials typically show large anelastic creep effects (curve B in the illustration).

For crystalline materials, creep deformation also involves the sliding of atoms past each other, but here the sliding can occur only within the cores of crystal dislocations. Thus, creep of metals and ceramics is usually governed by the motion of dislocations.

It is possible to design materials with superior creep resistance. When solute atoms are added to metals, they are attracted to the strain fields of the dislocations. There they inhibit dislocation motion and in this way improve the creep resistance. Many of the aluminum alloys used for aircraft structures are strengthened in this way. The addition of second-phase particles to alloys is another way to improve the creep resistance. The most effective strengthening phases are oxides, carbides, or intermetallic phases, because they are usually much stronger than the host metal and therefore create strong obstacles to dislocation motion. Materials containing finely dispersed, strong particles of a stable phase are usually very creep-resistant. Nickel-based superalloys, used in gas-turbine engines, derive their creep resistance from these effects. See also Aluminum alloys; Crystal defects; Diffusion; High-temperature materials; Metal, mechanical properties of; Plasticity; Rheology.

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Forward movement of the print blanket during offset printing; also called blanket creep. Blanket creep is caused by the normal printing process.

verb

1. To move along in a crouching or prone position: crawl, slide, snake, worm. See move/halt.
2. To move silently and furtively: glide, lurk, mouse, prowl, pussyfoot, skulk, slide, slink, slip, snake, sneak, steal. Slang gumshoe. See move/halt.
3. To advance slowly: crawl, drag, inch. See fast/slow/velocity.
4. To experience a repugnant tingling sensation: crawl. See fear/courage, like/dislike.

noun

A very slow rate of speed: crawl, snail's pace. See fast/slow/velocity.

Idioms beginning with creep:
creep up on

In addition to the idiom beginning with creep, also see make one's flesh creep; the creeps.

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To advance, grow, or multiply inexorably. In hackish usage this verb has overtones of menace and silliness, evoking the creeping horrors of low-budget monster movies.

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The slow, gradual movement downslope of soil, scree, or glacier ice. Most creep involves a deformation of the material, i.e. plastic flow.

1. The continuing, time-dependent part of strain resulting from stress; the permanent and continuing dimensional deformation of a material under a sustained load, following the initial instantaneous elastic deformation.
2. Slow movement of rock debris or soil, usually imperceptible except in observations of long duration.
3. In structures, particularly of concrete, permanent deflection of structural framing or structural decking resulting from plastic flow under continued stress.
4. In roofing, permanent elongation or shrinkage of a roofing membrane resulting from thermal or moisture changes.
5. The flow of water along the interface between a structure and the surrounding soil or rock foundation.

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A barrier containing small apertures. Only the young animals of the group can penetrate the barrier. See also creeping.

• c. barrier — a barred barrier permitting maximum auditory, olfactory, visual and palpatory contact without domination. A useful technique in a primate colony.
• c. feeding — feed is placed on one side of the barrier and only the young can get access to it.
• c. grazing — a creep is placed across the entrance to the pasture and only animals small enough to penetrate the creep get access to the pasture.
• c. ration — a weaning diet, suitable for weaning the young, which are the only animals able to penetrate the creep.

IN BRIEF: To move with the body close to the ground. Also: to feel as if things were crawling over the skin.

One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar. — Helen Keller (1880-1968).

Tutor's tip: A "crap" is a losing throw of the dice, "crape" is a black mourning fabric, often worn as a band on the sleeve, to "creep" is to move slowly or near the ground, while "crepe" is a crinkled fabric or paper.

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Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - krybe, kravle, snige sig ind, krybe for, klatre, få gåsehud, vandre
n. - kryben, væmmelse, myrekryb, skiderik, klippekrybning, metalvandring, buegang

idioms:

• creep up on    snige sig op på
• give someone the creeps    give en myrekryb

Nederlands (Dutch)
kruipen, (weg)sluipen, langzaam (voorbij)gaan, rillen, kruip-/sluipgang, slakkengang, griezel, geleidelijke slijtage door druk, lage boog (onder weg etc.), slijmerd

Français (French)
v. intr. - entrer/sortir à pas de loup, avancer lentement, grimper (insecte), ramper (chat), grimper (plante), (GB) faire du lèche-bottes (à qn)
n. - (GB) lèche-bottes, raclure

idioms:

• creep up on    surprendre (qn), (fig) prendre (qn) à l'improviste
• give someone the creeps    donner la chair de poule à quelqu'un, horripiler qn

Deutsch (German)
v. - kriechen, schleichen
n. - Widerling, Fiesling

idioms:

• creep up on    sich langsam jmdm. nähern
• give someone the creeps    schaudern machen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - έρπω, σέρνομαι, γλιστρώ, μπουσουλίζω, αναρριχώμαι, ανατριχιάζω, φρικιώ, (μηχαν.) ολισθαίνω, (μτφ.) υφέρπω, φέρομαι δουλικά
n. - σύρσιμο, (καθομ.) κάθαρμα, λεχρίτης, (πληθ.) (καθομ.) φρικίαση, σύγκρυο

idioms:

• creep up on    πλησιάζω αθόρυβα, καταλαμβάνω σιγά-σιγά
• give someone the creeps    προκαλώ αηδία, κάνω κάποιον να ανατριχιάσει

Italiano (Italian)
strisciare, che fa venire i brividi, leccapiedi

idioms:

• creep up on    avvicinarsi furtivamente a
• give someone the creeps    far venir la pelle d'oca a

Português (Portuguese)
v. - arrastar-se, sentir calafrios
n. - movimento (m) rastejante, calafrio (m), pessoa (f) desagradável (gír.)

idioms:

• creep up on    aproximar-se sem ser visto
• give someone the creeps    dar arrepios

Русский (Russian)
ползти на четвереньках, ползти, красться, урод

idioms:

• creep up on    подкрасться, застать врасплох
• give someone the creeps    вызывать омерзение

Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - arrastrarse, deslizarse
n. - canalla, reptil, pelotillero, desgraciado

idioms:

• creep up on    acercarse sigilosamente a
• give someone the creeps    ponerle a alguien la carne de gallina, dar escalofríos a alguien

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - krypa, kräla, smyga sig, krypköra, klänga (om växter), dragga (sjö.)
n. - krypande, kryphål, öppning, äckelpotta (vard.)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
爬, 潜行, 蔓延, 蠕动, 徐行

idioms:

• creep up on    不知不觉地来到, 渐渐养成的
• give someone the creeps    使某人浑身起鸡皮疙瘩

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 爬, 潛行, 蔓延
n. - 爬, 蠕動, 徐行

idioms:

• creep up on    不知不覺地來到, 漸漸養成的
• give someone the creeps    使某人渾身起雞皮疙瘩

한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - 기다, 살금살금 걷다, 섬뜩하다
n. - 김, 섬뜩한 느낌, 개구멍

idioms:

• creep up on    ~쪽으로 기다, 어느새 다다르다
• give someone the creeps    섬뜩하게 하다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 這う, こっそり進む, 絡まる, 忍び寄る, ろのろ歩く, むずむずする, ぞっとする, はびこる
n. - はうこと, 徐行, ぞくぞくする感じ

idioms:

• creep up on    忍び寄る

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) زحف, تسلل, سعى ( كالحيه) (الاسم) متزلف, متحذلق‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - ‮זחל, התגנב, טיפס‬
n. - ‮מתרפס, זחילה, אדם בלתי-נעים (מדוברת), תנועה הדרגתית של סלע מפורר בשל כח-הכבידה, שינוי צורה של חומרים תחת לחץ, קמרון מתחת למסילת ברזל‬

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