come up

verb

came up; come up; coming up; comes up

intransitive verb

1

: rise sense 6

2

: to come near : make an approach

came up and introduced himself

3

: to rise in rank or status

an officer who came up from the ranks

4

a

: to come to attention or consideration

the question never came up

b

: to occur in the course of time

any problem that may come up

5

: to turn out to be

the coin came up tails

6

chiefly dialectal : grow up

Phrases

come up empty

: to fail to achieve a desired result

come up with

: to produce especially in dealing with a problem or challenge

came up with a solution

Synonyms

• approach
• belly up
• close
• close in
• draw on
• near
• nigh

Examples of come up in a Sentence

the girl came up to the counter and asked if she could have her order prepared to go

let me know if anything else comes up during the project

Recent Examples on the Web

Enriquez’s drama Cash for Gold is coming up for release by Freestyle Digital Media. —Matt Grobar, Deadline, 15 Aug. 2024

When a job in public health came up, Ehnert—who loves both animals and statistics—decided to apply. —Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2024

Another topic that is likely to come up again is fracking. —Keely Bastow, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 14 Aug. 2024

Each side is struggling to come up with the money, arms and men needed to maintain operations along a 600-mile front. —Peter Rutland, The Conversation, 14 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

come up

verb

1

: rise entry 1 sense 4

the sun comes up in an hour

2

: to come near or approach

came up and introduced himself

3

: to come to attention : introduce sense 4

the question came up again