creepy-crawly
creepy-crawly — noun
1. a very small bug or similar animal that moves low across the floor or ground and
a very small bug or similar animal that moves low across the floor or ground and makes many people feel uneasy or sick.
Hari shouted when a creepy-crawly ran across the bathroom floor.
countable noun: a creepy-crawly
Amira brushed a creepy-crawly off the picnic blanket before lunch.
The children crowded around the jar to watch the creepy-crawly inside.
A shiny black creepy-crawly hid under the flowerpot after the storm.
- a creepy-crawly
- tiny creepy-crawly
- kill a creepy-crawly
Grammar Patterns
a creepy-crawly
find/see + a creepy-crawly
Usage Note
Informal word, often used in everyday family talk for a small creature people do not want near them. It usually suggests dislike or mild fear, not scientific description.
creepy-crawly — adjective
1. making you feel as if bugs were creeping over your skin, in a way that is unplea
making you feel as if bugs were creeping over your skin, in a way that is unpleasant and slightly frightening.
The damp rope on my neck felt creepy-crawly in the dark.
predicative adjective after feel
A line of fake spiders made the Halloween tablecloth look creepy-crawly.
When grass brushed Maeve's ankle, she got a creepy-crawly feeling.
collocation: creepy-crawly feeling
The whisper behind the curtain gave Eli a creepy-crawly feeling.
- creepy-crawly feeling
- feel creepy-crawly
- look creepy-crawly
Grammar Patterns
feel creepy-crawly
make + object + feel creepy-crawly
a creepy-crawly feeling
Usage Note
Usually used for a feeling or an atmosphere rather than for real insects themselves. It often appears with feeling, look, and make someone feel.
Etymology
First known use
1857
1857, in the meaning defined above Adjective