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 after the two met at a skin care event in January and began discussing the lack of innovation in the category. — Ryma Chikhoune, Footwear News, 4 Nov. 2026

The third and final pass Mayfield even attempted came about 90 seconds into the second half. — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 2 Nov. 2026

But in addition to needing to half-drown Odysseus (Matt Damon) and his companions, an IMAX camera, cinematographer, and acclaimed director, some of the aspects that make the Trojan Horse truly look like it’s been in the wars came about organically. — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 31 Oct. 2026

Delivery on the horizon The October 27 launch came about a year after the first steel was cut. — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 30 Oct. 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