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

Creative individuals come up with novel and productive ideas or ways of doing things, solving problems in unconventional ways. —Mark Travers, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2024

Get 75% Off Peacock Premium With Our Black Friday Promo Code Speaking of peacocks, another large beautiful bird’s day is coming up: Thanksgiving. —Molly Higgins, WIRED, 28 Nov. 2024

The annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, not to be confused with the Thanksgiving competition, is coming up in New York City in February. —Rachel Treisman, NPR, 27 Nov. 2024

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images Best Buy’s quarter came up short of expectations, with the misses compounded by downward revisions to management’s outlook for the remainder of the year. —Zev Fima, CNBC, 26 Nov. 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