ENGLISH
REFERENCE

creep

n. countable
C1 Advanced Oxford US //ˈkɹip// UK //kɹˈiːp// creep Archaic Informal Slang Vulgar

n. a person who behaves in an unpleasant, strange, or scary way. You use this word for someone who makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe because they are watching you or acting weirdly.

n. an unpleasant person who behaves in a way that makes others feel nervous, uncomfortable, or unsafe. Informal in register; often implies a lack of social boundaries or predatory behavior.


SIMPLE

That guy at the bus stop is a total creep.

CONTEXTUAL

She stopped going to that gym because some creep kept following her around and staring at her while she worked out.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English crepen, from Old English crēopan (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-West Germanic kreupan, from Proto-Germanic kreupaną (“to twist, creep”), from Proto-Indo-European *grewbʰ- (“to turn, wind”). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian krûpe (“to creep, crawl”), Central Franconian kruffe (“to creep, crawl”), Dutch kruipen (“to creep, crawl”), Low German krepen, krupen (“to creep, crawl”), Danish krybe (“to creep”), Faroese krúpa (“to creep”), Icelandic krjúpa (“to kneel down, to genuflect, to get down on one's knees”), Norwegian Bokmål krype (“to creep”), Norwegian Nynorsk krjupa, krjupe, krypa, krype (“to creep, crawl”), Swedish krypa (“to creep, crawl”). The noun is derived from the verb. Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *grewbʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *kreupaną Proto-West Germanic *kreupan Old English crēopan Middle English crepen English creep

Usage

Commonly used with the adjective 'total' or 'real' for emphasis.

Idioms1 entry

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