crept

A cat crept silently across the wooden floor.

Definition

Verb (past tense of "creep") 1. To move slowly and quietly, often in a stealthy or cautious manner
- "Crept" describes the action of advancing with deliberate quietness, typically to avoid detection or to move unnoticed. 2. To move in a gradual, slow, or imperceptible way
- Used metaphorically for processes that happen slowly and often unnoticed. 3. To feel as if something is crawling on the skin (rare, archaic usage)
- This sense is less common in modern English, appearing in phrases like "make one's flesh creep."

Usage Examples

• (Moved stealthily and quietly.)
• (Gradually approached without her noticing.)
• (Left very quietly.)

Advanced Usage

• "to have crept in": to have entered or appeared without being noticed.

  • Mistakes have crept into the final draft. (Errors appeared gradually and unnoticed.)

• "to have crept back": to return quietly or gradually.

  • Doubt crept back into his mind after the failure. (Doubt returned slowly.)

Variants and Related Words

• Creep (verb, present tense): to move slowly and quietly.

  • The spider creeps along the wall. (Moves slowly.)

• Creeping (adjective): moving slowly or gradually.

  • The creeping vines covered the fence. (Vines that grow slowly.)

• Creepy (adjective): causing an unpleasant feeling of fear or unease.

  • The old house felt creepy at night. (Gave a feeling of dread.)

Synonyms

• Sneaked: moved stealthily to avoid notice.

  • She sneaked into the kitchen for a snack. (Entered quietly.)

• Slunk: moved in a guilty or shameful manner.

  • He slunk away after being caught. (Left with a sense of guilt.)

• Crawled: moved on hands and knees or very slowly.

  • The baby crawled across the floor. (Moved on all fours.)

Phrasal Verbs

• Creep up on: to approach someone or something slowly and quietly, often to surprise them.

  • The deadline crept up on me. (Approached without my noticing.)

• Creep in: to enter or appear gradually.

  • Doubt began to creep in as the test got harder. (Doubt entered slowly.)

• Creep out: to cause someone to feel uneasy or frightened.

  • His stare really crept me out. (Made me feel uncomfortable.)

Related Idioms

• Make someone's flesh creep: to cause a feeling of fear or disgust.

  • The sound of scratching made her flesh creep. (Filled her with dread.)

• Creep like a snail: to move extremely slowly.

  • Traffic crept like a snail during rush hour. (Moved at a very slow pace.)