come across

verb

came across; come across; coming across; comes across

intransitive verb

1

: to give over or furnish something demanded

especially : to pay over money

2

: to produce an impression

comes across as a good speaker

3

: come through sense 2

transitive verb

: to meet, find, or encounter especially by chance

Researchers have come across important new evidence.

Synonyms of come across

• seem
• feel
• look
• sound

Examples of come across in a Sentence

the law professor comes across as a bit of an ogre at first, but he's actually quite personable

Recent Examples on the Web

So our questions always came across as very innocent. —Glamour, 1 Apr. 2026

His friends, from brother Luigi (Charlie Day) to Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) veer in a similar direction, somehow coming across less fully formed and three-dimensional than their nearly speechless inspirations from Nintendo‘s flagship franchise. —Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 31 Mar. 2026

The team came across Kinney’s name. —Saleen Martin, USA Today, 31 Mar. 2026

Kinney disappeared in 1999 and on June 17, 2022, a family looking for sea shells on Salmon Creek State Beach came across a bone sticking out of the sand. —Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1775, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for come across

• albatross
• applesauce
• barabbas
• helios
• kshatriyas
• backcross
• crisscross
• lacrosse
• recross
• tomas
• blas
• bos