to creep up
33
4.6
- phrasal verb
- /krip ʌp/
:
acercarse sigilosamente
- As I walked quietly through the garden, I noticed that my cat had crept up on a unsuspecting bird.
But like come off losses, like does that self doubt start to creep up?
- But like come off losses, like does that self doubt start to creep up?
- Sometimes it's really subtle, insidious harm that kind of creeps up on us.
- If grief creeps up on you in unexpected ways at unexpected times, like that's OK.
- And the, the people watching, the snipers watching and looking for movement, looking for any sign of people creeping up on them are in radio comms with the walkers.
Examples
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We'll creep up on him so he won't notice.
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They'll creep up on you.
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It's going to creep up on you.
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And these numbers could creep up as this one increases.
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The students seem to enjoy creeping up on me.
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These things may creep up at some point, but they don't last forever.
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I had to creep up on some fool today at the drive-through.
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You don't have to worry about anyone creeping up on you.
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A flush began creeping up my neck as it came back to me with swift simplicity.
Fiction book (1990) -
If grief creeps up on you in unexpected ways at unexpected times, like that's OK.
Synonyms
101
4.5
To move quietly toward someone or something without being noticed
16
6.7
To move quietly and carefully to avoid being seen
5
8.1
To move slowly and quietly to the side to avoid being noticed
4
7.6
To move close to someone quietly to pretend to be friendly and get their favour
Move slowly and carefully forward to get closer in a crowd
Antonyms
How Stealthy
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'creep' already encodes slow, stealthy movement and the particle 'up' adds a directional/approach nuance, so the composite meaning 'to approach stealthily' is directly derivable from the parts. This verb+particle pattern is a common, compositional English construction (and has clear parallels in other languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should understand the MWE.
Etymology
Creep up comes from the image of someone or an animal quietly creeping forward and moving up toward a person or thing so they are not seen. So, the phrase now means 'to approach without being noticed' and 'to happen slowly or increase without being noticed', as with a feeling or a deadline that gets closer over time.