come up

verb

came up; come up; coming up; comes up

intransitive verb

1
2
: to come near : make an approach
came up and introduced himself
3
: to rise in rank or status
an officer who came up from the ranks
4
a
: to come to attention or consideration
the question never came up
b
: to occur in the course of time
any problem that may come up
5
: to turn out to be
the coin came up tails
6
chiefly dialectal : grow up
Phrases
come up empty
: to fail to achieve a desired result
come up with
: to produce especially in dealing with a problem or challenge
came up with a solution

Examples of come up in a Sentence

the girl came up to the counter and asked if she could have her order prepared to go let me know if anything else comes up during the project
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The subject of Ukraine may also come up during the talks tomorrow, with Starmer keen to put more pressure on Russia to bring an end to the war. Amanda Castro hannah Parry shane Croucher jack Royston, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025 To this day, traditional schools have yet to come up with a model to identify and teach students with moderate to severe dyslexia. Laura Cassidy, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025 And then the band came up on the platform. Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2025 Now he’s retired, so possibly that’s why his son has come up with this idea. R. Eric Thomas, Mercury News, 16 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for come up

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of come up was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Come up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come%20up. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

come up

verb
1
: rise entry 1 sense 4
the sun comes up in an hour
2
: to come near or approach
came up and introduced himself
3
: to come to attention : introduce sense 4
the question came up again
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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