come by
verb
came by; come by; coming by; comes by
: to get possession of : acquire
a good job is hard to come by
: to make a visit
came by after dinner
Synonyms
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
According to News 5 Cleveland, Stark County resident Melanie Crews came by the building last week to pick up two Narcan boxes, each of which contains two doses.
—
Erin Clack, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2024
Early Wednesday afternoon, the judge halted jury selection after receiving word from the appeals court that a decision could come by the end of next week.
—Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
Buffs teammates Travis Hunter and Dylan Edwards have also come by, along with CU basketball player KJ Simpson – and dozens of other college athletes.
—Jonathan Shikes, The Denver Post, 8 Apr. 2024
Change, though, would have to come by way of compromise.
—Stephania Taladrid, The New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2024
House Republicans now must have near unanimity to approve partisan legislation, which has been difficult to come by amid divisions within the conference.
—Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2024
In April 2021, Walker’s great-granddaughter, Brandi Faison, came by to give her Nannie a pedicure and was startled by the sight of her feet — hardened, yellow and cracking, with thick, curling toenails three to four times their normal length.
—Christopher Rowland, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024
Matthew Rutledge recalled how his father loved scooping up ice cream for customers, especially when children came by.
—Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 27 Mar. 2024
Without those debt indicators, RALs became pretty hard to come by—that was precisely the IRS' plan.
—Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Erin Clack, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2024
Early Wednesday afternoon, the judge halted jury selection after receiving word from the appeals court that a decision could come by the end of next week.
—Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
Buffs teammates Travis Hunter and Dylan Edwards have also come by, along with CU basketball player KJ Simpson – and dozens of other college athletes.
—Jonathan Shikes, The Denver Post, 8 Apr. 2024
Change, though, would have to come by way of compromise.
—Stephania Taladrid, The New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2024
House Republicans now must have near unanimity to approve partisan legislation, which has been difficult to come by amid divisions within the conference.
—Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2024
In April 2021, Walker’s great-granddaughter, Brandi Faison, came by to give her Nannie a pedicure and was startled by the sight of her feet — hardened, yellow and cracking, with thick, curling toenails three to four times their normal length.
—Christopher Rowland, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024
Matthew Rutledge recalled how his father loved scooping up ice cream for customers, especially when children came by.
—Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 27 Mar. 2024
Without those debt indicators, RALs became pretty hard to come by—that was precisely the IRS' plan.
—Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'come by.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Time Traveler
The first known use of come by was
in the 14th century
Dictionary Entries Near come by
Cite this Entry
“Come by.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come%20by. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
come by
verb1
: to make a visit
come by after dinner
2
: acquire
good help is hard to come by
More from Merriam-Webster on come by
Britannica English: Translation of come by for Arabic Speakers
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