creep up
verb1
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.
- 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.[1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC:
2 more examples
- 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.1982 August 28, Andrea Loewenstein, “Becker's Experience Talks Back”, in Gay Community News, volume 10, number 7, page 11:
- These days cramped classrooms are all too common, with class sizes creeping up.2014 September 23, A teacher, “Choosing a primary school: a teacher's guide for parents”, in The Guardian: