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

Phrases

come up empty

: to fail to achieve a desired result

come up with

: to produce especially in dealing with a problem or challenge

came up with a solution

Synonyms

• approach
• belly up
• close
• close in
• draw on
• near
• nigh

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

Politicians have long come up with creative ways to battle the rodents, but some lawmakers are now proposing city and statewide measures to do more. —Maysoon Khan, Fortune, 15 Apr. 2024

That makes librarians’ and booksellers’ jobs even more challenging, something Patterson says came up again and again in his interviews. —Lizz Schumer, Peoplemag, 14 Apr. 2024

That means if private funds come up short, California would simply not have a semiquincentennial commission. —Hanna Kang, Orange County Register, 12 Apr. 2024

An amendment that would have required officials to obtain a warrant before searching Americans' communications in the 702 database failed in a dramatic tie vote before the bill came up for final passage. —CBS News, 12 Apr. 2024

But Simpson and the murder trial specifically only came up on occasion. —Krystie Lee Yandoli, Rolling Stone, 12 Apr. 2024

The biggest challenge for San Marcos is coming up with enough pitching after losing four pitchers to injuries. —Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2024

Individual colleges and universities are coming up with their own policies. —Laura Bratton, Quartz, 12 Apr. 2024

Advertisement The storyline will likely come up during ESPN’s broadcast of Friday’s game — a broadcast that could rewrite the record books, at least temporarily. —Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

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

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