come by

verb

came by; come by; coming by; comes by

transitive verb

: to get possession of : acquire

a good job is hard to come by

intransitive verb

: to make a visit

came by after dinner

Synonyms

• call
• come over
• drop by
• drop in
• pop (in)
• run (over)
• run in
• step in
• stop (by or in)
• visit

Examples of come by in a Sentence

come by after work and I'll give you some clothes for the rummage sale

a literary award like that isn't easy to come by

Recent Examples on the Web

Arguably one of the most standout moments of the weekend came by way of a moving three-way performance from The Kentucky Gentlemen, Noeline Hofmann and Angie K, who sang soulful acoustic renditions of their biggest tracks to a core group of enthralled fans amid a torrential rainstorm. —Chris Barilla, People.com, 10 June 2025

The irony being, real-world decency was even harder to come by behind the scenes. —Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 4 June 2025

Beautiful Drew Chair by Drew Barrymore For students living in off-campus housing, furniture that is functional, stylish, and reasonably affordable is hard to come by. —Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 3 June 2025

Your employer will be glad to concede, especially since finding available AI talent is hard to come by. 2. —Rachel Wells, Forbes.com, 3 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for come by

• abscissae
• alibi
• alkali
• alumni
• amoebae
• amplify
• annuli
• beautify
• brachii
• butterfly
• calculi
• certify

Kids Definition

come by

verb

1

: to make a visit

come by after dinner

2

: acquire

good help is hard to come by