come by

verb

came by; come by; coming by; comes by

transitive verb

: to get possession of : acquire

A good job is hard to come by.

intransitive verb

: to make a visit

came by after dinner

Synonyms of come by

• visit
• run in
• drop by
• drop in

Examples of come by in a Sentence

come by after work and I'll give you some clothes for the rummage sale

a literary award like that isn't easy to come by

Recent Examples on the Web

All five assists came by Olympians as well, with Canadian Sam Reinhart, Balinskis and Tkachuk each having one and Lundell chipping in two. —Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 5 Feb. 2026

Yards will be hard to come by, but Rhamondre Stevenson will get 55 and possibly a TD. —Bill Reinhard, New York Daily News, 5 Feb. 2026

The private serenity that attracted Guthrie to her desert home has also meant that surveillance footage is hard to come by, the sheriff said. —Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 5 Feb. 2026

Nowadays, skirted furniture is a bit more difficult to come by, but there are options out there with similar accents to channel her style. —Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 4 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for come by

• abscissae
• alibi
• alkali
• alumni
• amoebae
• amplify
• annuli
• beautify
• brachii
• butterfly
• calculi
• certify

Kids Definition

come by

verb

1

: to make a visit

come by after dinner

2

: acquire

good help is hard to come by