[syn: creeper, tree creeper]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Creeper \Creep"er\ (kr[=e]p"[~e]r), n.
1. One who, or that which, creeps; any creeping thing.
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Standing waters are most unwholesome, . . . full of
mites, creepers; slimy, muddy, unclean. --Burton.
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2. (Bot.) A plant that clings by rootlets, or by tendrils, to
the ground, or to trees, etc.; as, the Virginia creeper
(Ampelopsis quinquefolia).
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3. (Zool.) A small bird of the genus Certhia, allied to the
wrens. The brown or common European creeper is Certhia
familiaris, a variety of which (var. Americana) inhabits
America; -- called also tree creeper and creeptree.
The American black and white creeper is Mniotilta varia.
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4. A kind of patten mounted on short pieces of iron instead
of rings; also, a fixture with iron points worn on a shoe
to prevent one from slipping.
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5. pl. A spurlike device strapped to the boot, which enables
one to climb a tree or pole; -- called often telegraph
creepers.
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6. A small, low iron, or dog, between the andirons.
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7. pl. An instrument with iron hooks or claws for dragging at
the bottom of a well, or any other body of water, and
bringing up what may lie there.
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8. Any device for causing material to move steadily from one
part of a machine to another, as an apron in a carding
machine, or an inner spiral in a grain screen.
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9. pl. (Arch.) Crockets. See Crocket.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
creeper
n 1: any plant (as ivy or periwinkle) that grows by creeping
2: a person who crawls or creeps along the ground [syn:
crawler, creeper]
3: any of various small insectivorous birds of the northern
hemisphere that climb up a tree trunk supporting themselves
on stiff tail feathers and their feet [syn: creeper, tree
creeper]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
54 Moby Thesaurus words for "creeper":
algae, autophyte, bean, bracken, brown algae, climber, conferva,
confervoid, diatom, fern, fruits and vegetables, fucus, fungus,
grapevine, green algae, gulfweed, herb, heterophyte, ivy, kelp,
legume, lentil, liana, lichen, liverwort, mold, moss, mushroom,
parasite, parasitic plant, pea, perthophyte, phytoplankton,
planktonic algae, plant families, puffball, pulse, red algae,
rockweed, rust, saprophyte, sargasso, sargassum, sea lentil,
sea moss, sea wrack, seaweed, smut, succulent, toadstool, vetch,
vine, wort, wrack