creep up
English edit
Verb edit
creep up (third-person singular simple present creeps up, present participle creeping up, simple past and past participle crept up)
- (intransitive) To advance or increase with stealth, unnoticed (literally or figuratively).
- The lioness has to creep up behind her prey so as not to be noticed.
- 1898, J. Meade Falkner, chapter 4, in Moonfleet, London, Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934:
- Then I was forced to rest; and, sitting down on the ground, saw that the glimmering streak of light had faded, and that the awful blackness of the previous night was creeping up again.
- 1982 August 28, Andrea Loewenstein, “Becker's Experience Talks Back”, in Gay Community News, volume 10, number 7, page 11:
- Her exploration of emotion, too, is slightly muted. You have to stop and consult yourself. Pain — or joy or passion — creep up afterwards. These poems never hit you over the head.
- 2014 September 23, A teacher, “Choosing a primary school: a teacher's guide for parents”, in The Guardian:
- These days cramped classrooms are all too common, with class sizes creeping up.
Translations edit
to advance with stealth
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