come up

verb

came up; come up; coming up; comes up

intransitive verb

1

: rise sense 6

2

: to come near : make an approach

came up and introduced himself

3

: to rise in rank or status

an officer who came up from the ranks

4

a

: to come to attention or consideration

the question never came up

b

: to occur in the course of time

any problem that may come up

5

: to turn out to be

the coin came up tails

6

chiefly dialectal : grow up

see also:

come up empty come up with

Synonyms of come up

• come
• draw on
• close
• approach
• close in

Examples of come up in a Sentence

the girl came up to the counter and asked if she could have her order prepared to go

let me know if anything else comes up during the project

Recent Examples on the Web

But for each team member’s limited time in front of the cameras, one name kept coming up again and again when asked who has impressed so far this offseason. — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 23 July 2026

After Purple Reign came up empty on the ensuing offensive possession, JHX Hoops again turned to Mason in the clutch. — Christian Marshall, Kansas City Star, 23 July 2026

Investigative genetic genealogy provides lead Investigators uploaded the DNA profile of the unknown woman into CODIS, the national law enforcement database, but couldn’t come up with a match. — Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 July 2026

In Japan, fans come up with a song for each player and sing it happily and relentlessly. — Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for come up

• buttercup
• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup

Kids Definition

come up

verb

1

: rise entry 1 sense 4

the sun comes up in an hour

2

: to come near or approach

came up and introduced himself

3

: to come to attention : introduce sense 4

the question came up again