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 of come by

• visit
• run in
• drop by
• drop in

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

The recasting news comes by way of Variety which notes that a number of scenes will need to be shot entirely. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026

The Tar Heels stumbled to a 2-5 start and lost their first five games to power conference opponents, with the first three coming by an average of 29 points. — Ralph D. Russo, New York Times, 17 July 2026

The two recent launches give Disney a fleet of eight ships but five more are coming by 2031. — Christian Sylt, Fortune, 16 July 2026

Disguised in Chiefs apparel, players came by for afternoon coffees. — Zuri Primos july 15, Kansas City Star, 15 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for come by

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

Kids Definition

come by

verb

1

: to make a visit

come by after dinner

2

: acquire

good help is hard to come by