come/crawl out of the woodwork
idiom
disapproving
: to appear suddenly usually because one sees an opportunity to get something for oneself
As soon as she won the lottery, people started coming out of the woodwork, asking for money.
Examples of come/crawl out of the woodwork in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Anyone, anywhere, can be your collaborator—and if your project is popular online, people can come out of the woodwork with fixes and new ideas.
—
Mike Pearl, The New Republic, 14 Sep. 2023
Since our first story ran, a lot of people who have known Santos have come out of the woodwork.
—Emmett Lindner, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2023
For Sombra to come out of the woodwork, Decay may need to take the reins on Overwatch’s cyborg ninja.
—Sean Collins, Dallas News, 2 July 2020
Worse yet, some are focused on all the problems that their windfall has brought them, as friends and family come out of the woodwork, expecting to share in the good fortune.
—William Von Hippel, Discover Magazine, 19 Feb. 2019
Recently, Tinder and Fortnite, among other developers, have come out of the woodwork to take on the market dynamics of the App Store.
—Washington Post, 31 July 2020
Cheryl Poling, chair of local Democrats in the suburban Third District, said she’s been blown away by the number of people — particularly young women — who have come out of the woodwork in the days since Ginsburg’s death to volunteer for Democratic candidates.
—Briana Bierschbach, Star Tribune, 25 Sep. 2020
Maybe some of those crackpots have come out of the woodwork to bash this series on ratings sites.
—Andy Meek, BGR, 17 June 2022
In these narratives, a common denominator is the idea that at any moment, government ‘thugs’ will come out of the woodwork and, essentially, throw everyone into cages.
—Sy Mukherjee, Fortune, 8 Apr. 2021
See More
Mike Pearl, The New Republic, 14 Sep. 2023
Since our first story ran, a lot of people who have known Santos have come out of the woodwork.
—Emmett Lindner, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2023
For Sombra to come out of the woodwork, Decay may need to take the reins on Overwatch’s cyborg ninja.
—Sean Collins, Dallas News, 2 July 2020
Worse yet, some are focused on all the problems that their windfall has brought them, as friends and family come out of the woodwork, expecting to share in the good fortune.
—William Von Hippel, Discover Magazine, 19 Feb. 2019
Recently, Tinder and Fortnite, among other developers, have come out of the woodwork to take on the market dynamics of the App Store.
—Washington Post, 31 July 2020
Cheryl Poling, chair of local Democrats in the suburban Third District, said she’s been blown away by the number of people — particularly young women — who have come out of the woodwork in the days since Ginsburg’s death to volunteer for Democratic candidates.
—Briana Bierschbach, Star Tribune, 25 Sep. 2020
Maybe some of those crackpots have come out of the woodwork to bash this series on ratings sites.
—Andy Meek, BGR, 17 June 2022
In these narratives, a common denominator is the idea that at any moment, government ‘thugs’ will come out of the woodwork and, essentially, throw everyone into cages.
—Sy Mukherjee, Fortune, 8 Apr. 2021
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'come/crawl out of the woodwork.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to come/crawl out of the woodwork
Dictionary Entries Near come/crawl out of the woodwork
Cite this Entry
“Come/crawl out of the woodwork.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come%2Fcrawl%20out%20of%20the%20woodwork. Accessed 28 Sep. 2023.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share