come about

verb

came about; come about; coming about; comes about

intransitive verb

1

: happen

2

: to change direction

the wind has come about into the north

3

: to shift to a new tack

Synonyms of come about

• happen
• be
• come down
• come
• occur

Examples of come about in a Sentence

how did all this come about?

Recent Examples on the Web

The hearing comes about two years after the attack at the high school, the deadliest school shooting in Georgia history. — Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 28 July 2026

Productivity topics came about through discussions on implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in operations. — Alex Krutz, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026

The conversation regarding Lamar came about after Arnett revealed that Mumford was a fan of their podcast, even attending a live show in Los Angeles. — Shelby Stivale, Entertainment Weekly, 27 July 2026

The fines from the county’s Department of Public Health also come about a week after air quality regulators issued a series of violations due to the odor coming from the facility. — Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for come about

• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout
• dugout

Kids Definition

come about

verb

1

: happen sense 2

2

: to change direction

the wind has come about into the north