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

After his search came up empty, Ronaldo Salgado came across a Facebook post about ICE activity in the East End area. — Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 9 July 2026

Salgado Araujo came across the border from Mexico as a teenager and had been working without legal status for 35 years. — Nick Miroff, The Atlantic, 9 July 2026

Serrano comes across as someone with no inclination to coddle elite students. — Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 8 July 2026

Yet over our two days together in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, El-Sayed rarely comes across as angry. — Nik Popli, Time, 8 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1775, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for come across

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