come and go

idiom

—used to talk about time that has passed

More than a hundred years have come and gone since the day of that famous battle.

—used to talk about people who appear and then leave as time passes

She's seen a lot of employees come and go during her time in the company.

Politicians come and go. They all seem pretty much the same to me.

Examples of come and go in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Woven through it all are the rising and falling tones of Cantonese, Mandarin, and Fujianese as scores of center members come and go throughout the day. —

Ashley Milne-Tyte, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Oct. 2024 Food trends come and go, but classic desserts will always stand the test of time. —

Krissy Tiglias, Southern Living, 29 Sep. 2024 The focus on limited-time live entertainment sometimes makes Veeps feel a bit ephemeral, as shows quickly come and go. —

PCMAG, 13 Sep. 2024 Ideally, research groups would have at least one or two senior scientists — with as much training as a tenured professor — working in the lab to run experiments, mentor newer scientists, and serve as a stable source of expertise as other researchers come and go. —

Celia Ford, Vox, 12 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for come and go

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'come and go.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.