Phrasal Verbs with Come | Meaning & Examples
The English language includes many phrasal verbs with “come,” such as “come about,” “come by,” “come over,” “come through,” and “come up with.” The verb “come” means “to arrive,” but phrasal verbs with “come” usually have figurative rather than literal meanings. For example, “come about” means “to happen.”
Phrasal verbs with “come” can be intransitive or transitive:
- Intransitive phrasal verbs like “come back” don’t have direct objects.
- Transitive phrasal verbs like “come before” have direct objects. Although some transitive phrasal verbs are separable, phrasal verbs with “come” are usually inseparable, which means the direct object can’t go between the verb and the particle.
There are also a variety of idiomatic phrases with “come,” such as “come alive” and “come in handy”.
The definitions and examples below show how to use the most common idiomatic phrases and phrasal verbs with “come.”
The feral cat usually comes around in the evenings.
Most of the world’s chocolate comes from West Africa.
You should write a first draft before you come up with a title.
The new raincoat will come in handy during our trip to Edinburgh.
When you’re using phrasal verbs with “come” in your writing, QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you conjugate them correctly.
Table of contents
- Come about
- Come across
- Come alive (idiomatic phrase)
- Come along
- Come apart
- Come around
- Come back
- Come before
- Come by
- Come down
- Come down with
- Come from
- Come in
- Come in handy (idiomatic phrase)
- Come off as (idiomatic phrase)
- Come on
- Come out
- Come out of
- Come over
- Come through
- Come to
- Come up
- Come up against
- Come up with
- Come upon
- Frequently asked questions about phrasal verbs with come
Come about
To happen (intransitive)
Come across
- To seem to have a certain characteristic, followed by “as” (intransitive)
- To find something by chance (transitive, inseparable)
- The job applicant came across as confident and well-prepared.
- We came across some wild blackberries during our hike.
Come alive (idiomatic phrase)
To become filled with activity, usually in reference to a place
Come along
- To join someone on an excursion or outing (intransitive)
- To develop or improve (intransitive)
- To arrive or make an appearance (intransitive)
- To start to exist (intransitive)
- I’m going to the park. Would you like to come along with me?
- The peach tree is really coming along, and we should have a harvest next week.
- Ben took the first job opportunity that came along after college.
- Jan is going on maternity leave after the baby comes along.
Come apart
To break into parts or pieces, literally or figuratively (intransitive)
Come around
- To eventually accept, like, or agree after disagreeing at first (intransitive)
- To regain consciousness (intransitive)
- To arrive regularly or as expected, literally or figuratively (intransitive)
- Sheldon dislikes engineering, but he will eventually come around.
- After the patient came around, the nurses gave her ice cream.
- Rainier cherries only come around once a year.
Come back
- To return to a physical location (intransitive)
- To become fashionable again (intransitive)
- Monarch butterflies come back to the same locations every year.
- When bell-bottom jeans came back, I bought several pairs.
Comeback meaning
“Comeback” (one word) is a compound noun that can mean “a witty reply” (e.g., to a joke or prank) or “a return to former fame, popularity, or success.”
- The comedian’s comeback to the rude audience member was hilarious.
- Rollerblading is making a comeback this year.
Come before
To be more important (or regarded as more important) than someone or something (transitive, inseparable)
Mom said that homework should come before video games.
Come by
- To acquire or gain possession of something (transitive, inseparable)
- To visit (intransitive)
- Vintage furniture is easy to come by at rural garage sales.
- What time are the neighbors coming by for ice cream?
Come down
- To fall to the ground (intransitive)
- To become lower, usually in reference to a price, percentage, or rate (intransitive)
- To stop feeling excited (intransitive)
- To be removed from a vertical surface or hanging position (intransitive)
- A few dead branches came down during the storm.
- More people will buy houses when interest rates come down.
- I still haven’t come down from that incredible wedding.
- This old wallpaper needs to come down before we can paint.
Come down with
To become infected with (transitive, inseparable with an illness or malady as the direct object)
I might be coming down with a cold, or I might have allergies.
Come from
To be born or made in a particular place (transitive, inseparable with a direct object that’s usually a place)
Bananas come from tropical regions, including many areas in Latin America.
Come in
- To enter a building or room (intransitive)
- To arrive at the destination—e.g., a train, ship, or plane (intransitive)
- To become available (intransitive)
- To achieve a certain ranking in a competition (transitive, inseparable, and followed by “last” or an ordinal number like “first” and then “place”)
- After playing in the snow, the children came in for hot chocolate.
- What time does the train from Santa Fe come in?
- The store will call us if more eggs come in today.
- Jonas came in second place in the 2024 Tour de France.
Come in handy (idiomatic phrase)
To be useful
This old bucket came in handy when the roof was leaking.
Come off as (idiomatic phrase)
To give the impression of a certain characteristic
The job applicant comes off as experienced and knowledgeable in his resume.
The song in the show’s opening credits comes off as AI-written.
Come on
To start to happen (intransitive)
If a storm comes on, we’ll play board games instead of swimming.
I took the day off because I felt a virus coming on.
Come out
- To become available to buy or see—e.g., media or retail goods (intransitive)
- To openly declare an identity that was previously hidden (intransitive)
- To appear in the sky (intransitive)
- The new season of The Bear comes out this summer.
- We never knew what the neighbor did for a living until she came out as a private investigator.
- Within minutes after the storm, the sun came out, and a rainbow appeared.
Come out of
- To result from a situation (transitive, inseparable with a direct object that is a situation)
- To emerge from a place (transitive, inseparable)
- To emerge from an experience (transitive, inseparable)
- Several amazing songs came out of Dylan’s collaboration with The Band.
- A chipmunk suddenly came out of a hole in the ground.
- Malcolm came out of middle school with excellent grades and even better friends.
Come over
To go to someone’s place of residence (intransitive)
Do you want us to bring anything when we come over?
Come through
- To be successfully communicated (intransitive)
- To succeed at fulfilling a request or a need (intransitive)
- The author’s dry humor really comes through in the latest book.
- The mechanic will fix the car after her supplier comes through with the parts.
Come to
To regain consciousness after an accident or surgery (intransitive)
Come up
- To approach or move towards someone (intransitive)
- To be talked about or mentioned in a conversation (intransitive)
- To rise in status or rank (intransitive)
- Mel came up to Bret and Jemaine and introduced herself.
- The start date for the internship never came up during the interview.
- The new office manager is coming up from an administrative assistant role.
Come up against
To be affected by a problem or obstacle (transitive, inseparable)
The expedition came up against some harsh weather conditions.
Come up with
To produce for the first time (transitive, inseparable with a direct object that is an idea or plan of some kind)
Did the mayor come up with a plan to build bicycle trails?
Come upon
To find something unexpectedly (transitive, inseparable)
Frequently asked questions about phrasal verbs with come
- What is the meaning of come to terms with?
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The meaning of “come to terms with” is “to gradually accept.” The word that comes after “with” is almost always a noun or noun phrase that is a challenging situation. The following examples show how to use “come to terms with” in a sentence:
- Once I came to terms with the layoff, I started to enjoy some time away from work.
- Nate hasn’t come to terms with the divorce yet.
When you’re writing with the idiom “come to terms with,” remember that “come” is an irregular verb that’s conjugated “came” in the past tense. The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you use irregular verbs correctly in your writing.
- Is it comeback or come back?
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It can be comeback or come back, depending on what part of speech you’re using. “Come back” is a phrasal verb with “come” that means “to return to a location” or “to become successful or fashionable again.”
The following example shows how to use “come back” as a verb.
- Low-rise jeans have come back in style this year.
“Comeback” (one word) is a compound noun (not a phrasal verb) that means “a return to former success” or “a witty reply.” The following sentence uses the noun “comeback”:
- Low-rise jeans have made a comeback.
When you’re writing with compound words like “comeback” or “come back,” the QuillBot Grammar Checker can instantly show you how to format them correctly.
- What is the meaning of come clean?
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The meaning of “come clean” is “to confess to something you’ve been doing secretly.” “Come clean” is an idiom, so it has a figurative rather than a literal meaning. The following examples show how to use “come clean”:
- Did Bart come clean about eating Lisa’s candy?
- Chad came clean about his secret love for pop music.
When you’re writing with phrasal verbs with “come” or idioms like “come clean,” QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you avoid errors.
- What does come what may mean?
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The phrase come what may means “no matter what” or “under any circumstances.” It is used to emphasize firm commitment, the necessity of a particular course of action, or the stability of a situation.
Come what may in a sentence examples We shall ensure that the bridge is repaired by tomorrow, sir, come what may.However, the king insisted that he would, come what may, leave the following morning.
She knows that her parents will always support her, come what may.
You can use might or may interchangeably in many contexts, but not in the phrase “come what may.”
If you’re looking for alternative ways of expressing “come what may” in your writing, why not try QuillBot’s free Paraphraser?
- What’s the meaning of coming soon?
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“Coming soon” means “expected to arrive or debut in the near future.”
This adjective phrase can be used in diverse contexts to talk about upcoming products, services, media, or events (e.g., “The director’s new movie is coming soon”).
Some synonyms for “coming soon” are:
- Forthcoming
- Imminent
- On the way
- Around the corner
- Coming down the pike
QuillBot’s free Paraphraser can help you find other phrases that mean “coming soon.”
