come
come / kəm/ • v. (past came / kām/ ; past part. come) [intr.] 1. move or travel toward or into a place thought of as near or familiar to the speaker: Jessica came into the kitchen they came here as immigrants he came rushing out. ∎ arrive at a specified place: we walked along till we came to a stream it was very late when she came back my trunk hasn't come yet. ∎ (of a thing) reach or extend to a specified point: women in slim dresses that came all the way to their shoes the path comes straight down. ∎ (be coming) approach: someone was coming she heard the train coming. ∎ travel in order to be with a specified person, to do a specified thing, or to be present at an event: the police came come and live with me| the electrician came to fix the stove | fig. we have certainly come a long way since Aristotle. ∎ join someone in participating in a specified activity or course of action: do you want to come fishing tomorrow? ∎ (come along/on) make progress; develop: he's coming along nicely she asked them how their garden was coming on. ∎ [in imper.] (also come, come!) said to someone when correcting, reassuring, or urging them on: “Come, come, child, no need to thank me.”2. occur; happen; take place: twilight had not yet come waiting for a crash that never came a chance like this doesn't come along every day. ∎ be heard, perceived, or experienced: a voice came from the kitchen “No,” came the reply it came as a great shock. ∎ (of a quality) become apparent or noticeable through actions or performance: as an actor your style and personality must come through. ∎ (come across or off or Brit. over) (of a person) appear or sound in a specified way; give a specified impression: he'd always come across as a decent guy. ∎ (of a thought or memory) enter one's mind: the basic idea came to me while reading an article a passage from a novel came back to Adam.3. take or occupy a specified position in space, order, or priority: prisons come far down the list of priorities I make sure my kids come first. ∎ achieve a specified place in a race or contest: she came second among sixty contestants.4. pass into a specified state, esp. one of separation or disunion: his shirt had come undone. ∎ (come to/into) reach or be brought to a specified situation or result: you will come to no harm staff who come into contact with the public. ∎ reach eventually a certain condition or state of mind: he had come to realize she was no puppet.5. be sold, available, or found in a specified form: the cars come with a variety of extras they come in three sizes.6. inf. have an orgasm.• prep. inf. when a specified time is reached or event happens: I don't think that they'll be far away from honors come the new season.• n. inf. semen ejaculated at orgasm.PHRASES: as —— as they come used to describe someone or something that is a supreme example of the quality specified: Smith is as tough as they come.come again? inf. used to ask someone to repeat or explain something they have said.come and go arrive and then depart again; move around freely. ∎ exist or be present for a limited time; be transitory: health fads come and go.come from behind win after lagging.come off it [in imper.] inf. said when vigorously expressing disbelief.come to nothing have no significant or successful result in the end.come to pass chiefly poetic/lit. happen; occur: it came to pass that she had two sons.come to rest eventually cease moving.come to that (or if it comes to that) inf. in fact (said to introduce an additional point): there isn't a clock on the mantelpiece—come to that, there isn't a mantelpiece!come to think of it on reflection (said when an idea or point occurs to one while one is speaking).come what may no matter what happens.have it coming (to one) inf. be due for retribution on account of something bad that one has done: his uppity sister-in-law had it coming to her.how come? inf. said when asking how or why something happened or is the case: how come you never married, Jimmy?to come (following a noun) in the future: films that would inspire generations to come in years to come.where someone is coming from inf. someone's meaning, motivation, or personality.PHRASAL VERBS: come about1. happen; take place: the relative speed with which emancipation came about.2. (of a ship) change direction.come across1. meet or find by chance: I came across these old photos recently.2. inf. hand over or provide what is wanted: she has come across with some details. ∎ (of a woman) agree to have sexual intercourse with a man.come along [in imper.] said when encouraging someone or telling them to hurry up.come around (chiefly Brit. also round) 1. recover consciousness: I'd just come around from a drunken stupor.2. be converted to another person's opinion: I came around to her point of view.3. (of a date or regular occurrence) recur; be imminent again: Friday had come around so quickly.come at launch oneself at (someone); attack.come away be left with a specified feeling, impression, or result after doing something: she came away feeling upset.come back1. (in sports) recover from a deficit: the Mets came back from a 3–0 deficit.2. reply or respond to someone, esp. vigorously: he came back at Judy with a vengeance.come before be dealt with by (a judge or court): it is the most controversial issue to come before the Supreme Court.come between interfere with or disturb the relationship of (two people): I let my stupid pride come between us.come by1. call casually and briefly as a visitor: his friends came by she came by the house.2. manage to acquire or obtain (something).come down1. (of a building or other structure) collapse or be demolished. ∎ (of an aircraft) crash or crash-land.2. be handed down by tradition or inheritance: the name has come down from the last century.3. reach a decision or recommendation in favor of one side or another: advisers and inspectors came down on our side.4. inf. experience the lessening of an excited or euphoric feeling, esp. one produced by a narcotic drug. come down on criticize or punish (someone) harshly: she came down on me like a ton of bricks.come down to (of a situation or outcome) be dependent on (a specified factor): it came down to her word against Guy's.come down with begin to suffer from (a specified illness): I came down with influenza.come for (of police or other officials) arrive to arrest or detain (someone). come forward volunteer oneself for a task or post or to give evidence about a crime.come from originate in; have as its source: the word caviar comes from the Italian caviale. ∎ be the result of: a dignity that comes from being in control. ∎ have as one's place of birth or residence: I come from the Bronx. ∎ be descended from: she comes from a family of Muslim scholars.come in1. join or become involved in an enterprise: that's where Jack comes in I agreed to come in on the project. ∎ have a useful role or function: this is where grammar comes in. ∎ prove to have a specified good quality: the money came in handy for treating his cronies at the tavern.2. finish a race in a specified position: the favorite came in first.3. (of money) be earned or received regularly.4. [in imper.] begin speaking or make contact, esp. in radio communication: come in, London.5. (of a tide) rise; flow.come in for receive or be the object of (a reaction), typically a negative one: he has come in for a lot of criticism.come into suddenly receive (money or property), esp. by inheriting it.come of result from: no good will come of it. ∎ be descended from: she came of Neapolitan stock.come off1. (of an action) succeed; be accomplished. ∎ fare in a specified way in a contest: Jeff always came off worse in an argument.2. become detached or be detachable from something. come on1. (of a state or condition) start to arrive or happen: she felt a mild case of the sniffles coming on| it was coming on to rain.2. (also come upon) meet or find by chance.3. [in imper.] said when encouraging someone to do something or to hurry up or when one feels that someone is wrong or foolish: Come on! We must hurry! ∎ said or shouted to express support, for example for a sports team.come on to inf. make sexual advances toward.come out1. (of a fact) emerge; become known: it came out that the accused had illegally registered to vote. ∎ happen as a result: something good can come out of something that went wrong. ∎ (of a photograph) be produced satisfactorily or in a specified way: I hope my photographs come out all right. ∎ (of the result of a calculation or measurement) emerge at a specified figure: rough cider usually comes out at about eight percent alcohol.2. (of a book or other work) appear; be released or published.3. declare oneself as being for or against something: residents have come out against the proposals.4. achieve a specified placing in an examination or contest: he deservedly came out the winner on points she came out victorious. ∎ acquit oneself in a specified way: surprisingly, it's Penn who comes out best.5. (of a stain) be removed or able to be removed.6. inf. openly declare that one is homosexual.7. dated (of a young upper-class woman) make one's debut in society. come out with say (something) in a sudden, rude, or incautious way.come over1. (of a feeling or manner) begin to affect (someone).2. change to another side or point of view.come roundsee come around above.come through1. succeed in surviving or dealing with (an illness or ordeal): she's come through the operation very well.2. (of a message) be sent and received. ∎ (of an official decree) be processed and notified.come to1. (also come to oneself) recover consciousness.2. (of an expense) reach in total; amount to: he hasn't the least idea of how much it will come to.3. (of a ship) come to a stop.come under1. be classified as or among: they all come under the general heading of opinion polls.2. be subject to (an influence or authority). ∎ be subjected to (pressure or aggression): his vehicle came under mortar fire.come up (of an issue, situation, or problem) occur or present itself, esp. unexpectedly. ∎ (of a specified time or event) approach or draw near: she's got exams coming up. ∎ (of a legal case) reach the time when it is scheduled to be dealt with. come up against be faced with or opposed by (something such as an enemy or problem).come up with produce (something), esp. when pressured or challenged.come upon1. attack by surprise.2. see come on (sense 2).