{
    "term": "creep",
    "partOfSpeech": "verb",
    "ox5000": true,
    "cefr": "c1",
    "verbForms": {
        "presentSimple": {
            "iYouWeThey": "creep",
            "heSheIt": "creeps"
        },
        "pastSimple": "crept",
        "pastParticiple": "crept",
        "ingForm": "creeping"
    },
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "to move slowly, quietly and carefully, because you do not want to be seen or heard",
            "sensetop": "(+ adv./prep.)",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I crept up the stairs, trying not to wake my parents."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I heard someone creeping around the house."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He crept stealthily along the corridor."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She crept up behind me."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I could hear someone creeping around downstairs."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He crept forward towards the sound of voices."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She crept into her sister's room."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The cat was creeping stealthily through the long grass."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["quietly", "silently", "slowly"],
                "preposition": ["along", "down", "into"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "to move with your body close to the ground; to move slowly on your hands and knees",
            "sensetop": "(+ adv./prep.)",
            "labels": "(North American English)",
            "examples": [],
            "synonyms": "crawl",
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["quietly", "silently", "slowly"],
                "preposition": ["along", "down", "into"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "to move or develop very slowly",
            "sensetop": "(+ adv./prep.)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Her arms crept around his neck."
                },
                {
                    "text": "A slight feeling of suspicion crept over me."
                },
                {
                    "text": "A feeling of dread crept over him."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Trucks are creeping along Interstate 70 in convoys."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "to grow along the ground or up walls using long stems or roots",
            "sensetop": "(+ adv./prep.)",
            "examples": []
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 5,
            "definition": "to be too friendly or helpful to somebody in authority in a way that is not sincere, especially in order to get an advantage from them",
            "sensetop": "creep (to somebody)",
            "labels": "(British English, informal, disapproving)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He's always creeping to the boss."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to make you feel afraid or full of horror",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Just the sight of him makes my flesh creep."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The story made his flesh creep."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Feelings"]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/kriːp/",
                "audio": "cr/creep/creep__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/kriːps/",
                "audio": "cr/creep/creeps__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/krept/",
                "audio": "cr/creep/crept__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈkriːpɪŋ/",
                "audio": "cr/creep/creeping__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/kriːp/",
                "audio": "cr/creep/creep__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/kriːps/",
                "audio": "cr/creep/creeps__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/krept/",
                "audio": "cr/creep/crept__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈkriːpɪŋ/",
                "audio": "cr/creep/creeping__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "Old English crēopan ‘move with the body close to the ground’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch kruipen. Sense 1 of the verb dates from Middle English."
}