Reptation is the thermal motion of very long linear, entangled macromolecules in polymer melts or concentrated polymer solutions. Derived from the word reptile, reptation suggests the movement of entangled polymer chains as being analogous to snakes slithering through one another. `The forward and backward diffusion is reminiscent of the motion o....
act of squirming along a smooth-walled narrow passage
• (n.) The act of creeping.
Rep·ta'tion noun [ Latin reptatio , from reptare : confer French reptation .] (Zoology) The act of creeping.