creep up on transitive verb [creep up on sb] ① (approach) 悄悄走近 qiāoqiāo zǒujìn ▸ don't creep up on me like that! 别那么一声不响地靠近我! ② figurative (in time) «event» 渐渐临近 jiànjiàn línjìn ③ (begin to affect) «fatigue, age» 不知不觉开始影响 bù zhī bù jué kāishǐ yǐngxiǎng ▸ old age tends to creep up on us 年老往往不期而至 |