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Synonyms

creeping

American

[kree-ping] / ˈkri pɪŋ /

noun

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

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

adjective

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The cost of some organic solvents Ajinomoto uses is creeping up, and suppliers have warned they may pass on more.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026

An insidious bullying tactic is creeping into school cafeterias across the country: Kids are snapping and sharing photos of other students eating lunch.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 30, 2026

Scanlon’s best friend, who was moving back to L.A. from Texas, had been apartment hunting for over a month and her moving deadline was creeping up.

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026

However, ChatGPT-maker OpenAI recently said it identified "goblin" and "gremlin" creeping into its systems' responses - a quirk it believes arose after a tool it trained to have a nerdy persona incentivised mentioning the creatures.

From BBC • May 8, 2026

I can feel it creeping like the tiger I saw in one of my tata’s books when I was small.

From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.