creeper

plural creepers

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

   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;

   1638 [1621], Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, page 71

   1 more example

   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.

   2020 May 7, Katie Rife, “If you’re looking to jump in your seat, make a playdate with Z”, in The Onion AV Club, archived from the original on 16 May 2020

   Synonyms: crawler

2. Any creeping animal (such as a serpent), reptile.
3. in pluraloftenA 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. in pluralA 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.
10. Any plant (as ivy or periwinkle) that grows by creeping, especially a climbing plant of the genus Parthenocissus.

    Then the piglet tore loose from the creepers and scurried into the undergrowth.

    1964, William Golding, Lord of the Flies

    Synonyms: climber

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

    Throwing it in creeper and then getting out to work alongside is strictly forbidden because it is too dangerous if anything goes wrong.

    Synonyms: creeper gear, creeper shift

15. 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.

    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.

    1 more example

    "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."

    2022 September 19, HarryBlank, “Beyond Repair”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 15 Sep 2024

    Synonyms: cradle

16. derogatoryslangA person who creeps people out; a creepy person.

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

    Synonyms: creep, creepazoid, creepoid

17. A kind of shoe, usually with a suede upper and a thick crepe sole, associated with various 20th-century subcultures.
18. ball gamesA ball that travels low, near ground level.

    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.

    2009, Steven Lynch, Wisden on the Ashes, page 292