1
as in encroached
to advance gradually beyond the usual or desirable limits
water crept slowly over the top of the tub and onto the floor
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in lingered
to move or act slowly
that Friday afternoon we were just creeping, waiting for the bell to sound so that we could start the long weekend
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in crawled
to move slowly with the body close to the ground
the kitten crept silently across the floor before suddenly pouncing on the mouse
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in dragged
to move slowly
the class hour seems to creep by
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crept
Chicago's wild card lead over the San Diego Padres has crept down to just two games with a little under three weeks remaining in the season.
—
Andrew Wright, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
The jobs report from July shattered the narrative that the economy of 2025 was strong, revising previous figures downward and revealing something close to an 80% collapse in hiring, even as inflation crept upwards and layoffs rolled.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2025
By 2024, the number had crept to 30%.
—Alice Lassman, Time, 8 Sep. 2025
After inconclusive indirect talks during the Biden administration and Israel’s increasingly offensive regional military actions in the wake of Hamas’s brazen October 7 attacks, Iran, according to some estimates, crept to within days of being able to enrich enough uranium for a bomb.
—Vipin Narang, Foreign Affairs, 5 Sep. 2025
The wildfires ignited Tuesday as a monsoonal storm crept north across the state, unleashing more than 9,000 lightning strikes, according to Cal Fire.
—Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Wall Street’s fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index, surged 15% on Tuesday as jitters crept back onto Wall Street.
—John Towfighi, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
Complacency has not crept in following Osula’s 24-minute cameo on Monday, with a striker — deemed to be a successor to Wilson, not to Isak — still top of the agenda.
—Chris Waugh, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
At a rehearsal, Reich suggested that a pianist play constant eighth-note C’s, to keep the musicians together—providing the work with its buoyant, unifying pulse, which soon crept into Reich’s own music and came to emblematize musical minimalism.
—William Robin, New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2025
Andrew Wright, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
The jobs report from July shattered the narrative that the economy of 2025 was strong, revising previous figures downward and revealing something close to an 80% collapse in hiring, even as inflation crept upwards and layoffs rolled.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2025
By 2024, the number had crept to 30%.
—Alice Lassman, Time, 8 Sep. 2025
After inconclusive indirect talks during the Biden administration and Israel’s increasingly offensive regional military actions in the wake of Hamas’s brazen October 7 attacks, Iran, according to some estimates, crept to within days of being able to enrich enough uranium for a bomb.
—Vipin Narang, Foreign Affairs, 5 Sep. 2025
The wildfires ignited Tuesday as a monsoonal storm crept north across the state, unleashing more than 9,000 lightning strikes, according to Cal Fire.
—Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Wall Street’s fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index, surged 15% on Tuesday as jitters crept back onto Wall Street.
—John Towfighi, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
Complacency has not crept in following Osula’s 24-minute cameo on Monday, with a striker — deemed to be a successor to Wilson, not to Isak — still top of the agenda.
—Chris Waugh, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
At a rehearsal, Reich suggested that a pianist play constant eighth-note C’s, to keep the musicians together—providing the work with its buoyant, unifying pulse, which soon crept into Reich’s own music and came to emblematize musical minimalism.
—William Robin, New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crept
Verb
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The ads have now encroached into social media without proper disclosures with many online pharmacies not following the same rules that many pharmaceutical companies follow, a senior White House official said.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA Today,
9 Sep. 2025
-
From the deadly 2025 Los Angeles fires to the devastating 2019-2020 Australian bushfires and the 2018 wildfire in Athens, Greece, flames have increasingly encroached upon human settlements, claiming lives and livelihoods.—
Seyd Teymoor Seydi,
The Conversation,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The same cautious and concerned mood that overshadowed the start of the Fall/Winter 2026-2027 denim season in April lingered through to its final event.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
9 Sep. 2025
-
But inside, the pain of tumbling from first to 19th lingered.—
Zach Sweet,
Kansas City Star,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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On Wednesday, a similar scene closely followed as the funeral procession for Kansas City, Kansas, police officer Hunter Simoncic crawled along through the highways and streets in the community Simoncic worked to keep safe.—
Emily Curiel,
Kansas City Star,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Eby crawled across a ladder over the water to the vehicle, then crawled back with the child on his back, the video shows.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Homeland Security officials said Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez resisted arrest and dragged an officer in his car.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
-
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot a man who resisted arrest and dragged the officer during a vehicle stop in a Chicago suburb Friday morning, according to the Department of Homeland Security.—
Priscilla Alvarez,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Next, a series of lawsuits delayed construction.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
9 Sep. 2025
-
New natural gas plants are being delayed until the 2030s because of a 50-month backlog for natural gas turbines, and new nuclear power plants can take more than a decade to get off the ground.—
Brian Deese,
Foreign Affairs,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Putts that had been falling slid past the cup.—
Zach Sweet,
Kansas City Star,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Tagovailoa slid to his right to buy time and was targeting slot receiver Malik Washington on the third-and-3 pass Latu jumped in front of.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Budget cuts are about to bring big changes to San Diego’s 37 neighborhood library branches — including shorter hours, shuffled staff and rescheduled activities.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Sep. 2025
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Over the past two months, he’s been shuffled through three detention centers despite attempts to pay a bond set by the immigration judge.—
Ashleigh Fields,
The Hill,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
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No movie poked holes in the stereotypical puffy rock-star ego more effectively than Spinal Tap did, and there are legions of fans who have the film almost completely memorized.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
11 Sep. 2025
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After the cyberstalking ordeal came to an end and started making national news, the Wilsons poked fun at Kendra's fate by dressing up a scarecrow in a prison jumpsuit with a mask of her mugshot over its face, per The Cut.—
Caroline Blair,
PEOPLE,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Crept.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crept. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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