mission creep

British

noun

the tendency for a task, esp a military operation, to become unintentionally wider in scope than its initial objectives

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

No one can disagree with Mr. Warsh on the Fed’s mission creep and on the multiplication of inconsistent objectives.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 8, 2026

Worse yet, there was no end in sight as mission creep accelerated into a dash for cash.

From Salon • Sep. 11, 2023

“The fact is, police technology constantly experiences mission creep — meaning equipment reserved only for specific or extreme circumstances ends up being used in increasingly everyday or casual ways,” wrote EFF policy analyst Matthew Guariglia.

From Washington Times • Dec. 1, 2022

His party colleague Sir Graham Brady, who chairs a committee of backbench Tory MPs, warned against a "mission creep" of new restrictions.

From BBC • Nov. 30, 2021

The term “quarantine” experienced mission creep in 2020, used for everything from closed-off hospital wards to healthy people working from home.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 19, 2021

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