creep up on
Silently get closer
To creep up on is to approach stealthily, moving slowly and quietly to avoid detection: The cat crept up on the bird.
Time or circumstances can creep up on you—arriving gradually without your noticing until they're upon you: Old age creeps up on everyone.
A deadline that creeps up on you catches you unprepared.
- stalkPlant's vertical support
- prowlRoam stealthily
- sneak upAdvance undetected toward someone
- weigh downAdd heaviness to something
- sidleMove furtively sideways
sneak · encroach · approach · surprise · take by surprise · come out of nowhere · tiptoe · lurk · accumulate · slow burn · preoccupy · ambush · haunt · turn up · nag · infiltrate · catch off guard · make for