1
: something (such as an advertising promotion) intended to entice or allure
2
: a usually sexual advance
came on; come on; coming on; comes on
1
a
: to advance by degrees
darkness came on
b
: to begin by degrees
rain came on toward noon
2
a
: please
—used in cajoling or pleading
b
—used interjectionally to express astonishment, incredulity, or recognition of a put-on
3
: to project an indicated personal image
comes on as a conservative
4
: to show sexual interest in someone
also
: to make sexual advances
—usually used with to
tried to come on to her
Synonyms
Examples of come-on in a Sentence
Noun
the spectacular sale was enough of a come-on to get many shoppers to try the store for the first time
Recent Examples on the Web
Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2023
The whole ride, she’s been pursing her lips and meeting his gaze in the rearview mirror in ways that some men might take as a come-on.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 3 Sep. 2023
Or the Hollywood sign, originally a real-estate come-on and the site of an early movieland suicide.
—John Anderson, wsj.com, 25 Apr. 2023
And though Jaxton is an obvious skeeve, decentering his maleness only as a kind of tantric come-on, Foley does it so well that the character is somehow attractive.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2023
The show's diva/icon/legend/the-moment-now-come-on is Ni'Jah, whose entire aesthetic and many major life and career achievements are lifted directly from the life of one Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 21 Mar. 2023
Giveaways, gimmicks, and novelty come-ons of all sorts proliferated.
—Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Mar. 2023
This sort of blanket approach targets a common practice among robotexters, which is to use different numbers (real or spoofed) to originate successive come-ons or phishing attempts.
—Jon Healey, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Mar. 2023
But she isn’t intimidated by the brothers, illustrated early on by her initial rebuff of Albert’s come-on.
—Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Mar. 2023
Miami Herald, 8 May 2024
As the song concludes and the theater lights come on, the function quickly takes on a third life — that of a meet-and-greet.
—Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2024
The latest sign that Tesla’s car business is under severe pressure came on Monday, when Germany’s motor vehicle authority published new car registrations for the month of April.
—Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 6 May 2024
Another one of the earliest uses of the phrase came on May 4, 1979, when a London newspaper writer congratulated Britain’s new prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, on her first day of office, StarWars.com says.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 3 May 2024
The most consequential miscues, however, came on Turner’s two-base passed ball the following inning.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 3 May 2024
Jeff Gordon came on to win four titles at the turn of the millennium, and Jimmie Johnson joined them atop NASCAR’s Mount Rushmore by winning seven championships, including five consecutive titles during 2006-10.
—Randy Covitz, Kansas City Star, 3 May 2024
The highest profile deployment of the device came on an Air Canada Flight that ran out of fuel between Montreal and Edmonton in 1983.
—Owen Bellwood / Jalopnik, Quartz, 2 May 2024
But with each subsequent training session, headaches, mental fogginess and nausea seemed to come on quicker and last longer.
—Dave Philipps, New York Times, 2 May 2024
Noun
Books Is Madonna a game-changing feminist or capitalist come-on?
—Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2023
The whole ride, she’s been pursing her lips and meeting his gaze in the rearview mirror in ways that some men might take as a come-on.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 3 Sep. 2023
Or the Hollywood sign, originally a real-estate come-on and the site of an early movieland suicide.
—John Anderson, wsj.com, 25 Apr. 2023
And though Jaxton is an obvious skeeve, decentering his maleness only as a kind of tantric come-on, Foley does it so well that the character is somehow attractive.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2023
The show's diva/icon/legend/the-moment-now-come-on is Ni'Jah, whose entire aesthetic and many major life and career achievements are lifted directly from the life of one Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 21 Mar. 2023
Giveaways, gimmicks, and novelty come-ons of all sorts proliferated.
—Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Mar. 2023
This sort of blanket approach targets a common practice among robotexters, which is to use different numbers (real or spoofed) to originate successive come-ons or phishing attempts.
—Jon Healey, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Mar. 2023
But she isn’t intimidated by the brothers, illustrated early on by her initial rebuff of Albert’s come-on.
—Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Mar. 2023
Verb
Muncy’s grand slam, the opposite way to left-center field, came on Cabrera’s second pitch of the at-bat.
—Miami Herald, 8 May 2024
As the song concludes and the theater lights come on, the function quickly takes on a third life — that of a meet-and-greet.
—Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2024
The latest sign that Tesla’s car business is under severe pressure came on Monday, when Germany’s motor vehicle authority published new car registrations for the month of April.
—Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 6 May 2024
Another one of the earliest uses of the phrase came on May 4, 1979, when a London newspaper writer congratulated Britain’s new prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, on her first day of office, StarWars.com says.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 3 May 2024
The most consequential miscues, however, came on Turner’s two-base passed ball the following inning.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 3 May 2024
Jeff Gordon came on to win four titles at the turn of the millennium, and Jimmie Johnson joined them atop NASCAR’s Mount Rushmore by winning seven championships, including five consecutive titles during 2006-10.
—Randy Covitz, Kansas City Star, 3 May 2024
The highest profile deployment of the device came on an Air Canada Flight that ran out of fuel between Montreal and Edmonton in 1983.
—Owen Bellwood / Jalopnik, Quartz, 2 May 2024
But with each subsequent training session, headaches, mental fogginess and nausea seemed to come on quicker and last longer.
—Dave Philipps, New York Times, 2 May 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'come-on.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near come-on
Cite this Entry
“Come-on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come-on. Accessed 10 May. 2024.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
come on
intransitive verb
: to be brought forward (as a case in court)
the first prize case of the war…came on for trial—W. G. Young
W. G. YoungLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
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