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 football game directive came about a week after Ingoglia held a press conference criticizing Alachua County — where UF’s campus is located — for excessive or wasteful spending to the tune of $84 million over five years, claiming the budget grew by 77%. —Jeffrey Schweers, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 May 2026

How that came about will go down as legend in the history of the sport. —Maury Brown, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026

The collaboration came about as a result of Dillane’s long-standing relationship with Puma. —Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 22 May 2026

How did this partnership with Spotify come about? —Jennifer Maas, Variety, 18 May 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