sneak up

verb — 2 senses

sneak up

verb

1

To approach a person or animal without being seen or heard

If you sneak up from behind like that, you'll give me a heart attack!

2

To deliver a sudden effect, often unexpectedly and without warning.

Watch out for that brown liquor. It sneaks up on you quickly.
The weekend sneaked up on me.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.