come Hear it!

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come definition

come (kum)

intransitive verb came, come, coming com′·ing

  1. to move from a place thought of as “there” to or into a place thought of as “here”:
    1. in the second person, with relation to the speaker come to me, will you come to the dance tonight?
    2. in the first person, with relation to the person addressed I will come to see you
    3. in the third person, with relation to the person or thing approached he came into the room
  2. to approach or reach by or as by moving toward
  3. to arrive or appear help will come
  4. to extend; reach the bus line comes near the hotel
  5. to happen; take place success came to him early in life
  6. to take form in the mind, as through recollection her name finally came to him
  7. to occur in a certain place or order after 9 comes 10
    1. to become actual; evolve; develop peace will come in time
    2. to proceed; progress; get (along) how's your new book coming (along)?
    1. to be derived milk comes from cows
    2. to be descended he comes from an old family
    3. to be a native, resident, or former resident: with from
  10. to be caused; result illness may come from a poor diet
  11. ☆ to be due or owed (to): used in the participle to get what is coming to one
  12. to pass by or as by inheritance the house came to him on the death of his father
  13. to enter into a certain state or condition this word has come into use
  14. to get to be; become my shoe came loose
  15. to be obtainable or available this dress comes in four sizes
  16. to amount; add up (to)
  17. Informal to have a sexual orgasm
  18. when (a specified time or event) occurs [come evening, he will return]: used with the subject after the verb

Etymology: ME comen < OE cuman, akin to Goth qiman, Ger kommen < IE base *gwem-, *gwā-, to go, come > L venire, to come, Gr bainein, to go

noun

Slang semen: somewhat vulgar

interjection

used to express irritation, impatience, remonstrance, etc. oh come! it's not that bad
come Idioms

as good (or tough or strong, etc.) as they come

among the best (or toughest, strongest, etc.)

come about

  1. to happen; occur
  2. to turn about
  3. Naut. to change course so that the sail or sails shift from one side of the vessel to the other, esp. to do so as by turning the bow into and across the wind; tack

come across

  1. to meet by accident; find by chance
  2. Informal to be effective, readily understood, etc.
  3. ☆ Slang to give, do, or say what is wanted; provide (with what is needed)

come again?

Informal what did you say?please repeat that!

come alive

  1. to become excited, enthusiastic, etc.
  2. to become exciting, interesting, etc. new curtains made the room come alive

come along

  1. to appear or arrive
  2. to proceed or succeed

come and get it!

Informal the meal is ready!: a summons to eat

come around

or come round
  1. to revive; recover
  2. to make a turn or change in direction
  3. to concede or yield, as to a demand
  4. Informal to come to visit

come at

  1. to reach; attain
  2. to approach angrily or swiftly, as in attacking

come back

  1. to return
  2. ☆ Informal to make a comeback

come between

to cause estrangement between; divide

come by

  1. to get; acquire; gain
  2. ☆ to pay a visit

come down

to suffer loss in status, wealth, etc.

come down on

or come down upon
to scold; criticize harshly

come down with

☆
to contract (a cold, flu, etc.)

come forward

to offer one's services; volunteer

come in

  1. to enter
  2. to arrive
  3. to begin to be used; come into fashion
  4. ☆ to start producing, as an oil well
  5. to finish in a competitive event he came in fifth
  6. Golf
    1. Radio to answer a call or signal
    2. Radio, TV, etc. to be received

come in for

Informal to get or become eligible to get

come into

  1. to enter into; join
  2. to inherit

come of age

to reach the age when one has full legal rights: often used figuratively for any arrival at maturity, one's prime, etc. baseball came of age in the 1920s

come off

  1. to become unfastened or detached
  2. to happen; occur
  3. to end up; emerge, as from a contest
  4. ☆ Informal to prove effective, successful, etc. humor that didn't come off

come off it!

☆
Slang stop acting or talking in that way!

come on

  1. to make progress
  2. to meet by accident; find
  3. to appear, begin to work, make an entrance, etc.

come on!

Informal
used to signify
  1. invitation, often to a different place
  2. encouragement, urgency, etc. come on! you can do it
  3. objection, disagreement, refusal to believe, etc. come on! you can't be serious
: Often used as a cajoling expression equivalent to please

come on to

Slang to make sexual advances toward

come out

  1. to be disclosed; become evident
  2. to be offered for public inspection, sale, etc.
  3. to be formally introduced to society; make a debut
  4. to end up; turn out how did the election come out?
  5. ☆ to become actively homosexual or reveal that one is homosexual

come out for

to announce one's approval of; endorse

come out with

  1. to disclose
  2. to say; utter; publish
  3. to offer for public inspection, sale, etc.

come over

to happen to; occur to; seize a strange feeling came over me

come through

  1. to wear through
  2. ☆ to complete or endure something successfully
  3. ☆ Informal to do what is wanted; provide (with what is needed)

come to

  1. to recover consciousness
  2. Naut.
    1. to bring the ship's head nearer the wind
    2. to stop moving; also, to anchor

come up

  1. to arise; begin a light breeze came up
  2. to be mentioned, as in a discussion
  3. to rise or improve, as in status
  4. to be put forward, as for a vote
  5. Brit. to enter a university

come upon

  1. to meet or encounter by accident
  2. to attack

come up to

  1. to reach or extend to
  2. to equal

come up with

to propose, produce, find, suggest, etc.

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms come idiom

come Synonyms

come

v.

  1. To move toward

    approach, close in, advance, draw near; see approach 2.

  2. To arrive

    appear, appear at, reach, attain; see arrive 1.

  3. To be available

    appear, be offered, be at one's disposal, be ready, be obtainable, be produced, show up, turn up, be procurable, appear on the market; see also appear 1, 3.

  4. To reach

    extend, expand, spread; see reach 1, stretch 3.

  5. To become

    evolve, develop, get, proceed; see become 1, grow 2.

  6. To be derived

    issue, emanate, arise, originate; see appear 1, arise 3, begin 2.

  7. To happen

    occur, take place, befall; see happen 2.

  8. *To have an orgasm

    climax, achieve orgasm, reach sexual fulfillment, ejaculate.

how come?*

for what reason? how so? what is the cause of that* what is the reason for that?; see why.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

come Usage Examples

Adjective complement

  • alive: In Christianity it is the spirit of man that comes alive.

Particle object: off_obj

  • bench: If he comes off the bench he will be one of the youngest players to ever take part in the Powergen Cup.

Followed by an intransitive particle

  • up: Came up through the tunnel to the end of the canal.

Used with why or when

  • when: But I kept coming back - I had no choice - and the day came when finally another lady came.

Infinitive complement

  • pass: Eventually, of course, much of this came to pass.

Particle object: up_obj

  • trump: It always seems surprising that the Peak District area should come up trumps with another crag and a vast array of impressive climbs.

Preposition: under

  • scrutiny: From time to time trustees may have to take decisions that may come under very close scrutiny.

Infinitive complement

  • mind: The examples of Deitrich Bonhoeffer and the Maccabean revolt come to mind.
come usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

come quotes

I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.

-Bible (Old Testament)

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

-Bible (Old Testament)

And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?

-Bible (NewTestament)

come quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"come." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/come>

APA Style

come. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/come

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