1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

creeps up

verb

present tense third-person singular of creep up
as in sneaks up

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for creeps up
  1. shows up
  2. turns up
  3. comes
  4. hits
  5. reaches
  6. arrives
Verb
  • Wind River’s Julia Jones shows up as a Native woman who joins the pack, and holds her own against obstacles ranging from raging rivers to even-more-raging men.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Apple’s iOS is a clear example; its advantage shows up in daily use, coming less from having every feature than from restraint, cohesion and dependability across thousands of small interactions.
    — Lorenzo Alvaro, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of shows up
Verb
  • In one scene, the couple turns up the music while the sound of ambulance sirens floods the streets.
    — Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Trey Smack was perfect in preseason games, but the pressure turns up when the real games start.
    — Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of turns up
Verb
  • As a retired fighter, Taylor faces the daunting task of deciding what comes next.
    — Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • There comes a moment, looking at Evans’s dense worlds, when the eye stops decoding and the mind begins to surrender.
    — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of comes
Verb
  • Miami starter Tyler Phillips (5-6) allowed 3 runs and 5 hits over 5 innings.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Sep. 2026
  • There is a 16-person cast, about half of which is Chicago-based, and a six-piece live band, knocking out the Ellington hits.
    — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of hits
Verb
  • Novelis says its pre-applied coating can address some of those requirements before the aluminum reaches the forming stage.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 19 Sep. 2026
  • The most challenging aspect of her decision was the timing — stepping away as the team reaches new heights in terms of chemistry and momentum.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of reaches
Verb
  • This appointment arrives as Nike navigates deep operational restructuring and severe market headwinds.
    — , CNBC, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The bigger change arrives Saturday night into Sunday as moisture returns and another system approaches.
    — Bill Kelly, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of arrives
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

creeps
creeps up
creep up
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Creeps up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/creeps%20up. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of volition

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All