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

The group draws inspiration from nature to come up with polymeric gliding structures that can be controlled through light. —Abhishek Bhardwaj, Interesting Engineering, 27 June 2024

And the Department of Energy (DOE) is requiring companies that receive its loans and grants to come up with Community Benefit Agreements, legally binding documents that explain how a community will benefit from a project. —Justin Worland/toronto, TIME, 27 June 2024

Uber isn’t the first company to come up with this idea for a car-free trial. —Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 27 June 2024

Of course, the most exciting thing was hearing his footsteps coming up the stairs: Fantasy is always more exciting than reality. —Nicole Acheampong, New York Times, 26 June 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