come

I UK [kʌm] / US verb
Word forms "come":
present tense I/you/we/they come he/she/it comes present participle coming past tense came UK [keɪm] / US past participle come
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1) [intransitive] to move or travel to the place where you are

come across/along/down/into etc:

A tall woman in black was coming across the lawn.

We've got people coming to dinner tonight.

come here/home/nearer/downstairs etc:

Billy, I want you to come here at once!

come and do something:

Come and tell me all about it.

come to do something:

She's got someone coming this morning to fix the computer.

come running/flying/rushing/crashing etc somewhere:

All the glasses came crashing onto the floor.

come by train/car/plane etc:

We flew into Paris and came the rest of the way by train.

a) [intransitive] to go somewhere with someone

I'm off now – are you coming?

come with:

We're all going into town and we thought you'd like to come with us.

b) [transitive] to move or travel a particular distance to where you are

Have you come a long way?

They've come about 10 miles from the next village.

2) [intransitive] to reach a particular state

come to a decision/conclusion/view etc:

We came to the conclusion that she must be telling the truth.

come to an end/stop/halt/standstill:

All good things must come to an end.

come to power/prominence:

When the Conservatives came to power they continued these policies.

3) [intransitive] to start doing something

come into existence/operation/effect etc:

The new changes will come into effect next month.

come into view/sight (= to start to be seen):

As we turned the corner, the top of the Eiffel Tower came into view.

4) [intransitive] to reach a particular point or level

come as high/low/far etc as something:

The road comes as far as the post office and then turns into a dirt track.

come up/down to something:

The water came up to my shoulders.

5) [intransitive] if something such as a letter or message comes, you receive it

The news could not have come at a better time.

6) [intransitive] to happen

Police investigated him for three years before the breakthrough came.

come as a shock/surprise/relief/disappointment/reminder etc (= be a shock etc):

It came as no surprise that she left the company.

This news has come as a disappointment to local business leaders.

coming soon:

Coming soon, the new smash-hit comedy starring Julia Roberts.

come in twos/threes etc (= two/three etc of them happen at the same time):

Instances of bad luck are supposed to come in threes.

7) [intransitive] to be sold or produced

come in:

The long-sleeved dress comes in yellow and blue.

8) [intransitive] to be in a particular position in a series or list or at the end of a race

come before/after:

July comes before August.

come first/second/third etc:

She came first in a national poetry competition.

My children always come first (= are the most important thing for me).

9) [intransitive] impolite to have an orgasm (= reach the state of greatest sexual excitement)

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as nice/big etc as they come — used for emphasizing how nice/big etc someone or something is

Her husband is kind, helpful, and as handsome as they come.

the best/worst is yet to come — the best or worst thing has not happened yet

come again? — informal used for asking someone to repeat what they said

come, come/come now — old-fashioned used for telling someone not to be upset or nervous; old-fashioned used for telling someone that you do not believe or accept what they are saying

come good/right — British

informal to end well or successfully

In spite of problems, we kept on filming and hoped it would come good in the end.

come into contact (with) — to be in a place where you meet someone or experience something

Could she have come into contact with the disease at school?

come naturally/easily/easy (to someone) — to be easy for someone to do, without them needing to try hard

come to think of/about it — spoken used for adding something that you have just remembered about a subject that you are talking about

I love getting her letters. Come to think of it, I haven't had one for a while.

come undone/untied/unstuck etc — to become undone/untied/unstuck etc

Be careful! Your shoelaces have come undone.

don't come the something (with me) — British

informal used for telling someone angrily not to pretend that they have particular feelings or are in a particular situation, because you do not believe them

Don't come the innocent with me!

have it coming (to you) — informal to deserve something bad that happens to you

- come and go

- come as

- come a long way

- come to do something

- come to hand

- come to life

- come to pass

- come true

- come what may

- get what's coming to you

- here comes someone

- not know whether you're coming or going

- take something as it comes

- to come

Phrasal verbs:

- come about

- come across

- come across with

- come after

- come along

- come apart

- come around

- come at

- come away

- come back

- come back to

- come before

- come between

- come by

- come down

- come down on

- come down to

- come down with

- come for

- come forward

- come from

- come in

- come in at

- come in for

- come into

- come of

- come off

- come on

- come on to

- come out

- come out in

- come out of

- come out with

- come over

- come over to

- come round

- come through

- come to

- come together

- come under

- come up

- come up against

- come up for

- come up to

- come up with

- come upon

- come with

See:

cheap II, clean I, how, mind I

II UK [kʌm] / US noun [uncountable] impolite

semen that a man produces when he has an orgasm

III UK [kʌm] / US preposition informal

at a particular time in the future or when a particular event happens

Come summer, all the building work should be finished.