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 Braves’ announcement comes about a year after the Texas Rangers’ split from their RSN, which served as the precursor for the launch the in-house Rangers Sports Network. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 24 Feb. 2026

The event comes about a week after CBS barred Steven Colbert from broadcasting an interview with Talarico, citing Federal Communications Commission guidelines on equal opportunity for political candidates. —Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Feb. 2026

How did this actually come about? —Ben Smith, semafor.com, 20 Feb. 2026

The negotiations came about a month after an estimated tens of thousands of Iranian protesters were killed in the country. —Asher Notheis, The Washington Examiner, 18 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