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 idea came about during a conversation manager Carlos Mendoza had with Soto, who was working out in left field in anticipation of playing there during the WBC for the Dominican team. —Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 10 Feb. 2026

And then how did the actual license come about? —Marah Eakin, Vulture, 9 Feb. 2026

The news comes about a month after Aldi closed its location near North Sherman Boulevard and West Custer Avenue on Milwaukee's north side. —Adrienne Davis, jsonline.com, 6 Feb. 2026

The final straw came about two weeks ago, when the bar's doorman confiscated a fake ID featuring the face of Benjamin Franklin — complete with a fictional home address on Market Street. —Ross Dimattei, CBS News, 6 Feb. 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