creeping

American  

[kree-ping] / ˈkri pɪŋ /

noun

1. Slang. the act or practice of following someone persistently or stealthily, especially online.

   Twitter and LinkedIn creeping is a normal part of my day.

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adjective

1. advancing or developing gradually so as to infringe on or supplant something else.

   creeping inflation;

   creeping socialism.

Etymology

Origin of creeping

creep + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

That doesn’t mean prices for consumers haven’t been creeping up.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

"Mascots were there to grab the crowd's attention, but often the mascot would be creeping up behind me as I was sat photographing the game," she says.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

But those steps only save $100 a week, at most, and haven’t stopped his credit-card debt from creeping to just below his $28,000 limit.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 22, 2026

Drivers had to burn gas to find gas, creeping from station to station, looking for the green flags that meant “open,” not the red flags that signaled “closed” or “out of gas.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026

He felt his eyelids growing heavier, the old darkness creeping in from the corners of his vision.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Related Words

• climbing
• spreading