Creep, n. 1. The act or process of creeping.
2. A distressing sensation, or sound, like that occasioned by the creeping of insects.
A creep of undefinable horror.
Blackwood's Mag.
Out of the stillness, with gathering creep,
Like rising wind in leaves.
Lowell.
3. (Mining) A slow rising of the floor of a gallery, occasioned by the pressure of incumbent strata upon the pillars or sides; a gradual movement of mining ground.
Creep"er (krēp"&etilde;r), n. 1. One who, or that which, creeps; any creeping thing.
Standing waters are most unwholesome, . . . full of mites, creepers; slimy, muddy, unclean.
Burton.
2. (Bot.) A plant that clings by rootlets, or by tendrils, to the ground, or to trees, etc.; as, the Virginia creeper (Ampelopsis quinquefolia).
3. (Zo÷l.) A small bird of the genus Certhia, allied to the wrens. The brown or common European creeper is C. familiaris, a variety of which (var. Americana) inhabits America; -- called also tree creeper and creeptree. The American black and white creeper is Mniotilta varia.
4. A kind of patten mounted on short pieces of iron instead of rings; also, a fixture with iron points worn on a shoe to prevent one from slipping.
5. pl. A spurlike device strapped to the boot, which enables one to climb a tree or pole; -- called often telegraph creepers.