creep

/kɹiːp/

//kɹiːp// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"creep" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“creep” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,029. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,029
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To move slowly with the abdomen close to the ground.

Corpus desk

Index EN-creep · creep · English

creep · rank #9,029 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,029
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Crawford

Nearest frequency peer: Crawford (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “creep”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “creep” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

creep vs crew
60% similar
creep vs crop
60% similar
creep vs cried
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for creep
PropertyValue
Headwordcreep
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/kɹiːp/
Letters5
Frequency rank#9,029
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “creep”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).creeplands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Crawford” (#9,028), “daylight” (#9,030), “crashing” (#9,027). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “creep” is #9,029. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around creep (IPA /kɹiːp/), averb. Corpus frequency is #9,029 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for creep, with forms such as "ccreep", "cerep", and "creepp". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "crew", "crop", "cried", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 (“t… The correct English form is creep, spelled C-R-E-E-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    To move slowly with the abdomen close to the ground.
  2. 2
    To grow across a surface rather than upwards.
  3. 3
    To move slowly and quietly in a particular direction.
  4. 4
    To make small gradual changes, usually in a particular direction.
  5. 5
    To move in a stealthy or secret manner; to move imperceptibly or clandestinely; to steal in; to insinuate itself or oneself.
  6. 6
    To slip, or to become slightly displaced.
  7. 7
    To move or behave with servility or exaggerated humility; to fawn.
  8. 8
    To have a sensation as of insects creeping on the skin of the body; to crawl.
  9. 9
    To drag in deep water with creepers, as for recovering a submarine cable.
  10. 10
    To covertly have sex (with a person other than one's primary partner); to cheat with.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how creep appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Lizards and snakes crept over the ground.
  2. One evening, while the Rabbit was lying there alone, watching the ants that ran to and fro between his velvet paws in the grass, he saw two strange beings creep out of the tall bracken near him.

Etymology

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

This word in other languages

reptar(Español)ramper(Français)kriechen(Deutsch)trepar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccreep
  • cerep
  • creepp
  • crep
  • crepe
  • crreep
  • rceep

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of creep - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ccreep1cerep2creepp1crep1crepe2crreep1rceep2
Edit distance from "creep"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "creep"?
"creep" is spelled C-R-E-E-P. The IPA pronunciation is /kɹiːp/.
What does "creep" mean?
As a verb, "creep" means: To move slowly with the abdomen close to the ground.
What words are commonly confused with "creep"?
"creep" is commonly confused with "crew", "crop", "cried". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "creep"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "creep" is /kɹiːp/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "creep"?
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... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "creep", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Devon#9,033donna#9,036Cairo#9,021elbow#9,037

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Felix7 variantswires7 variantsmarina7 variantspains7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list