come
[ kuhm ]
/ kʌm /
verb (used without object), came, come, com·ing.
to approach or move toward a particular person or place: Come here. Don't come any closer!
to arrive by movement or in the course of progress: The train from Boston is coming.
to approach or arrive in time, in succession, etc.: Christmas comes once a year. I'll come to your question next.
to move into view; appear.
to extend; reach: The dress comes to her knees.
to take place; occur; happen: Success comes to those who strive.
to occur at a certain point, position, etc.: Tuesday comes after Monday. Her aria comes in the third act.
to be available, produced, offered, etc.: Toothpaste comes in a tube.
to occur to the mind: The idea just came to me.
to befall: They promised no harm would come to us.
to issue; emanate; be derived: Peaches come from trees. Good results do not come from careless work.
to arrive or appear as a result: This comes of carelessness.
to enter or be brought into a specified state or condition: to come into popular use.
to do or manage; fare: She's coming along well with her work.
to enter into being or existence; be born: The baby came at dawn.
to have been a resident or to be a native of (usually followed by from): She comes from Florida.
to become: His shoes came untied.
to seem to become: His fears made the menacing statues come alive. The work will come easy with a little practice.
(used in the imperative to call attention or to express impatience, anger, remonstrance, etc.): Come, that will do!
to germinate, as grain.
Informal.
to have an orgasm.
verb (used with object), came, come, com·ing.
Chiefly British.
to do; perform; accomplish.
Informal.
to play the part of: to come the grande dame.
noun
Slang: Vulgar.
semen.
Verb Phrases
come about,
- to come to pass; happen.
- Nautical. to tack.
come across,
- Also come upon. to find or encounter, especially by chance: I came across this picture when I was cleaning out the attic. We suddenly came upon a deer while walking in the woods.
- Informal. to make good one's promise, as to pay a debt, do what is expected, etc.: to come across with the rent.
- to be understandable or convincing: The moral of this story doesn't come across.
- Informal. to make a particular impression; comport oneself: She comes across as a very cold person.
come again,
(used as a request to repeat a statement).
come along,
- to accompany someone, attend as part of a group: He didn't come along on the last trip.
- to proceed, develop, or advance sufficiently or successfully: The new project was coming along quite smoothly.
- to appear; emerge as a factor or possibility: Even if another job comes along this summer, I won't take it.
come around/round,
- to recover consciousness; revive.
- to change one's opinion, decision, etc., especially to agree with another's.
- to visit: Come around more often.
- to cease being angry, hurt, etc.
come at,
- to arrive at; attain.
- to rush at; attack: The watchdog came at the intruder.
come back,
- to return, especially to one's memory: It all comes back to me now.
- to return to a former position or state.
- to talk back; retort: to come back with a witty remark.
come between,
to cause to be estranged or antagonized: Love of money came between the brothers.
come by,
to obtain; acquire: How did he ever come by so much money?
come down,
- to lose wealth, rank, etc.; be reduced in circumstances or status.
- to be handed down by tradition or inheritance.
- to be relayed or passed along from a source of higher rank or authority: The general's orders will come down tomorrow.
- Slang. to take place; happen.
- Slang. to lose one's euphoria, enthusiasm, or especially the effects of a drug high.
come down on/upon,
- to voice one's opposition to: She came down on increased spending and promised to cut the budget.
- to reprimand; scold: He came down on me for getting to work late.
come down with,
to become afflicted with (an illness): Many people came down with the flu this year.
come forward,
to offer one's services; present oneself; volunteer: When the president called for volunteers, several members of our group came forward.
come in,
- to enter.
- to arrive.
- to come into use or fashion.
- to begin to produce or yield: The oil well finally came in.
- to be among the winners: His horse came in and paid 5 to 1.
- to finish in a race or any competition, as specified: Our bobsled team came in fifth.
come in for,
to receive; get; be subjected to: This plan will no doubt come in for a great deal of criticism.
come into,
- to acquire; get.
- to inherit: He came into a large fortune at the age of 21.
come on,
- Also come upon. to meet or find unexpectedly.
- to make progress; develop; flourish.
- to appear on stage; make one's entrance.
- to begin; appear: The last showing will be coming on in a few minutes.
- Informal. (used chiefly in the imperative) to hurry; begin: Come on, before it rains!
- Informal. (as an entreaty or attempt at persuasion) please: Come on, go with us to the movies.
- Slang. to try to make an impression or have an effect; present oneself: She comes on a bit too strong for my taste.
- Slang. to make sexual advances: a Lothario who was always coming on with the women at the office.
come on to, Slang.
to make sexual advances to.
come out,
- to be published; appear.
- to become known; be revealed.
- to make a debut in society, the theater, etc.
- to end; terminate; emerge: The fight came out badly, as both combatants were injured.
- to make more or less public acknowledgment of being homosexual.
come out for,
to endorse or support publicly: The newspaper came out for the reelection of the mayor.
come out with,
- to speak, especially to confess or reveal something.
- to make available to the public; bring out: The publisher is coming out with a revised edition of the textbook.
come over,
- to happen to; affect: What's come over him?
- to change sides or positions; change one's mind: He was initially against the plan, but he's come over now.
- to visit informally: Our neighbors came over last night and we had a good chat.
come round,
- come(def 29).
- Nautical. (of a sailing vessel) to head toward the wind; come to.
come through,
- to endure or finish successfully.
- Informal. to do as expected or hoped; perform; succeed: We knew you'd come through for us.
- Informal. to experience religious conversion.
come to,
- to recover consciousness.
- to amount to; total.
- Nautical. to take the way off a vessel, as by bringing her head into the wind or anchoring.
come under,
- to fit into a category or classification: This play comes under the heading of social criticism.
- to be the province or responsibility of: This matter comes under the State Department.
come up,
- to be referred to; arise: The subject kept coming up in conversation.
- to be presented for action or discussion: The farm bill comes up for consideration next Monday.
come upon.
come(defs 26a, 41a).
come up to,
- to approach; near: A panhandler came up to us in the street.
- to compare with as to quantity, excellence, etc.; match; equal: This piece of work does not come up to your usual standard.
come up with,
to produce; supply: Can you come up with the right answer?
Idioms for come
come and go,
to occur briefly or suddenly but never for long; appear and disappear.
come down on the side of,
to support or favor: I want to come down on the side of truth and justice.
- (of an anchor) to begin to drag.
- (of an object) to move when hauled upon.
- to happen; occur.
- to reach the end; acquit oneself: to come off with honors.
- to be given or completed; occur; result: Her speech came off very well.
- to succeed; be successful: The end of the novel just doesn't come off.
come home, Nautical.
come off, Informal.
come off it, Informal.
to stop being wrong, foolish, or pretentious; be truthful or honest: Come off it—we know you're as poor as the rest of us.
come to pass,
to happen; occur.
come what may,
no matter what may happen; regardless of any opposition, argument, or consequences: Come what may, he will not change his mind.
where one is coming from, Slang.
where the source of one's beliefs, attitudes, or feelings lies: It's hard to understand where your friend is coming from when he says such crazy things.
Origin of come
Words nearby come
comdg.,
comdr,
comdr.,
comdt,
comdt.,
come,
come a long way,
come about,
come across,
come again?,
come alive
Words related to come what may
British Dictionary definitions for come what may
come
/ (kʌm) /
verb comes, coming, came or come (mainly intr)
to move towards a specified person or place
come to my desk
to arrive by movement or by making progress
to become perceptible
light came into the sky
to occur in the course of time
Christmas comes but once a year
to exist or occur at a specific point in a series
your turn comes next
to happen as a result
no good will come of this
to originate or be derived
good may come of evil
to occur to the mind
the truth suddenly came to me
to extend or reach
she comes up to my shoulder
to be produced or offered
that dress comes in red only
to arrive at or be brought into a particular state or condition
you will soon come to grief; the new timetable comes into effect on Monday
(foll by from)
to be or have been a resident or native (of)
I come from London
to become
your wishes will come true
(tr; takes an infinitive)
to be given awareness
I came to realize its enormous value
(of grain) to germinate
slang
to have an orgasm
(tr) British informal
to play the part of
don't come the fine gentleman with me
(tr) British informal
to cause or produce
don't come that nonsense again
(subjunctive use)
when (a specified time or event has arrived or begun)
she'll be sixteen come Sunday; come the revolution, you'll be the first to go
as…as they come
the most characteristic example of a class or type
come again? informal
what did you say?
come and (imperative or dependent imperative)
to move towards a particular person or thing or accompany a person with some specified purpose
come and see what I've found
come clean informal
to make a revelation or confession
come good informal
to recover and perform well after a bad start or setback
come it slang
- to pretend; act a part
- to exaggerate
- (often foll by over) to try to impose (upon)
- to divulge a secret; inform the police
come to light
to be revealed
come to light with Australian and NZ informal
to find or produce
come to pass archaic
to take place
how come? informal
what is the reason that?
interjection
an exclamation expressing annoyance, irritation, etc
come now!; come come!
noun taboo, slang
semen
See also
come about,
come across,
come along,
come at,
come away,
comeback,
come between,
come by,
comedown,
come forward,
come from,
come in,
come into,
come of,
come off,
come on,
come out,
come over,
come round,
come through,
come to,
come up,
come upon
Word Origin for come
Old English
cuman; related to Old Norse
koma, Gothic
qiman, Old High German
queman to come, Sanskrit
gámati he goes
Idioms and Phrases with come what may (1 of 2)
come what may
No matter what happens, as in Come what may, I'll be home in time for dinner. This phrase, in slightly different form, come what will, dates from the 16th century and has almost exact equivalents in French, Italian, and German.
Idioms and Phrases with come what may (2 of 2)
come
In addition to the idioms beginning with come
- come about
- come across
- come again?
- come alive
- come along
- come a long way
- come and get it
- come and go
- come apart at the seams
- come around
- come at
- come back
- come between
- come by
- come clean
- come down
- come down on
- come down the pike
- come down to
- come down with
- comedy of errors
- come forward
- come from
- come from behind
- come full circle
- come hell or high water
- come home to roost
- come in
- come in for
- come in from the cold
- come in handy
- come in out of the rain, know enough to
- come into
- come of
- come of age
- come off
- come off it
- come on
- come one's way
- come on in
- come on strong
- come on to
- come out
- come out ahead
- come out for
- come out in the wash, it will
- come out of
- come out of nowhere
- come out of the closet
- come out with
- come over
- come round
- come through
- come to
- come to a halt
- come to a head
- come to an end
- come to blows
- come to grief
- come to grips with
- come to life
- come to light
- come to mind
- come to no good
- come to nothing
- come to one's senses
- come to pass
- come to terms
- come to that
- come to the point
- come to the same thing
- come to think of it
- come true
- come under
- come unglued
- come up
- come up against
- come up in the world
- come upon
- come up roses
- come up to
- come up with
- come what may
- come with the territory
also see:
- bigger they come
- cross a bridge when one comes to it
- dream come true
- easy come, easy go
- first come, first served
- full circle, come
- get one's comeuppance
- (come) to the point
- how come
- if the mountain won't come to Muhammad
- if worst comes to worst
- Johnny-come-lately
- know enough to come in out of the rain
- make a comeback
- of age, come
- on the scene, come
- out of nowhere, come
- push comes to shove
- ship comes in, when one's
- till the cows come home
- what goes around comes around
- when it comes down to
Also see undercoming.