Creeper /(krēp"ẽr)/

Creep·er

Creeper

n.
  1. One who, or that which, creeps; any creeping thing.
    Standing waters are most unwholesome, . . . full of mites, creepers; slimy, muddy, unclean.
    — Burton.
  2. A plant that clings by rootlets, or by tendrils, to the ground, or to trees, etc.; as, the Virginia creeper (Ampelopsis quinquefolia). (Bot.)
  3. 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. (Zool.)
  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.
  5. A spurlike device strapped to the boot, which enables one to climb a tree or pole; -- called often telegraph creepers.
  6. A small, low iron, or dog, between the andirons.
  7. 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.
  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.
  9. Crockets. See Crocket. (Arch.)