becreep

B3E1C3R1E1E1P3

verb

To creep up on; stalk

Scrabble 13

Meanings

verbbecreep (third-person singular simple present becreeps, present participle becreeping, simple past and past participle becrept)

present singular third person becreeps · participle present becreeping · participle past becrept · past becrept

  1. transitiveTo creep up on; stalk

    "Ja, baas," he said; "I shall becreep them. […]"

    2015, Henry Bryden, The Gold Kloof
    3 more examples

    But they, seeing that there was not sufficient cover for them to “becreep” the rhinoceros with safety, allowed Robert to go on alone.

    1838, Sir James Edward Alexander, An Expedition of Discovery Into the Interior of Africa

    “Two o'clock am a troop of buffaloes came to drink at our pool and one of my boys, whose leg had been broken last year by an elephant, becrept them and shot one which turned out to be in good condition. […]"

    2008, Richard Sampson, White Induna, page 33

    Or malachite in green coprolitic stools like small stone turds becrept a brassy green.

    2010, Cormac McCarthy, Suttree, page 276

Origin

  1. Middle Dutchbecrûpen
  2. Dutchbekruipen
  3. Afrikaansbekruip
  4. Englishbecreep

Borrowed from Afrikaans bekruip, or alternatively from Dutch bekruipen, both from Middle Dutch becrûpen, equivalent to be- + creep.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with becreep

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

becreep. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/becreep

MLA

“becreep.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/becreep. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “becreep,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/becreep.

Source: becreep on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.