come close

idiom

1

: to almost do something

We didn't win, but we came close.

—often + to

The band came very close to breaking up.

We came close to winning the championship this season.

2

: to be similar to something or as good as expected

She said they taste just like real hot dogs, but they don't even come close (to the real thing).

Examples of come close in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Only Brazil’s Rio Film Festival may come close to that popular impact. —John Hopewell, Variety, 31 Jan. 2026

Spider-Man’s struggle against Doc Ock is thrilling — especially the subway set piece, an action sequence that no other superhero movie has come close to matching — but Spider-Man 2 is really about Peter Parker’s struggle with Spider-Man. —James Grebey, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2026

Median household incomes haven’t come close to keeping up with inflation, even if things seem to have improved over the last few years. —Erik Sherman, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026

Even on the world’s most premium airlines, an economy seat can never really come close to competing with the comforts of business class. —Sophie Prideaux, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Jan. 2026

Rhymes for come close

• adios
• adipose
• amylose
• bellicose
• cellulose
• centavos
• comatose
• diagnose
• grandiose
• granulose
• levulose
• overdose