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

see also:

come up empty come up with

Synonyms of come up

• come
• draw on
• close
• approach
• close in

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

Late in the second half of a 0-0 draw against Curaçao on Saturday at Kansas City (Arrowhead) Stadium, the Ecuador forward extended his right foot in frustration and kicked the goalpost after watching all 15 of his team’s shots on goal come up empty. —Kellis Robinett, Kansas City Star, 21 June 2026

When the proposal failed to generate enthusiasm, Wilson was urged to come up with an alternative. —Jesse Wegman, The Atlantic, 20 June 2026

Coffin came up with the 1920s backdrop – an era that saw cinema shift from silent films to talkies — and did something the franchise rarely permits — make something personal. —Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 20 June 2026

In truth, though, the four-time World Cup champion was coming up against a team lacking the quality or experience to really trouble it and will have a tougher time against the Ivory Coast. —Ben Church, CNN Money, 20 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for come up

• buttercup
• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup

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