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

The unemployment rate has been creeping up since June.

From The Wall Street Journal

“The temperature drops and the relative humidity goes up, the winds die down, flames drop to the ground and it starts creeping along,” Hanson said.

From Los Angeles Times

Companies are wrestling with drilling hazards that make it more costly to operate and complaining that the marinade is creeping into their oil-and-gas reservoirs.

From The Wall Street Journal

"It's a large, slowly moving mass -- on the order of about 500 million cubic meters -- that has been creeping for decades."

From Science Daily

By creeping to 286 all out, 85 behind on first innings, England could have left themselves an outside chance by dismissing Australia for a total below 240 in their second innings.

From BBC

Related Words

• climbing
• spreading