come by

verb

came by; come by; coming by; comes by

transitive verb

: to get possession of : acquire

a good job is hard to come by

intransitive verb

: to make a visit

came by after dinner

Synonyms

• call
• come over
• drop by
• drop in
• pop (in)
• run (over)
• run in
• step in
• stop (by or in)
• visit

Examples of come by in a Sentence

come by after work and I'll give you some clothes for the rummage sale

a literary award like that isn't easy to come by

Recent Examples on the Web

Equally, in a world where talent can be hard to come by, there could be a ceiling on the availability of skilled people to underpin rapid expansion in the local innovation sector. —Trevor Clawson, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024

The Cooper Hewitt had invited Tines to come by when the museum was closed to visitors in order to put accent pieces in their proper positions, so that technicians could later mount them in place. —Henry Alford, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024

Sharing a Bottle Change to the industry’s structure, in the hunt for efficiency gains, has been slower to come by. —Vivek Wadhwa, Fortune Europe, 19 Oct. 2024

With mortgage rates above 6% and the median home price clocking in at $425,000, good deals are harder to come by. —Celia Fernandez, CNBC, 19 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

come by

verb

1

: to make a visit

come by after dinner

2

: acquire

good help is hard to come by