creep
The word carries a heavy sense of stealth and discomfort. When used as a movement, it suggests a predatory or secretive quality, evoking a feeling of tension or fear. It is not just slow movement, but movement designed to hide from view.
As a noun, it describes a specific type of social repulsion. It refers to someone who violates personal boundaries or makes others feel unsafe through unwanted attention. This usage is highly informal and strongly negative, focusing on the visceral feeling of skin-crawling disgust.
Countable when referring to a weird person (a creep). Uncountable when referring to the slow movement of a substance (the creep of the glacier).
Meanings
To move slowly and quietly to avoid being noticed.
He tried to creep past the sleeping dog.
To grow or spread gradually across a surface.
The ivy began to creep up the brick wall.
A person who is perceived as unpleasant, weird, or socially inappropriate.
That guy at the party was a total creep.
Phrasal Verbs
creep up on
to approach someone slowly and secretly so as to surprise them
The cat tried to creep up on the bird without making a sound.
creep up
to increase or happen gradually and unnoticed
The cost of the project began to creep up as more requirements were added.
creep in
to enter or appear slowly and subtly
After a few hours of silence, a feeling of doubt started to creep in.