come across

verb

came across; come across; coming across; comes across

intransitive verb

1

: to give over or furnish something demanded

especially : to pay over money

2

: to produce an impression

comes across as a good speaker

3

: come through sense 2

transitive verb

: to meet, find, or encounter especially by chance

Researchers have come across important new evidence.

Synonyms of come across

• seem
• feel
• look
• sound

Examples of come across in a Sentence

the law professor comes across as a bit of an ogre at first, but he's actually quite personable

Recent Examples on the Web

People in North Texas are also likely to come across wolf spiders, garden spiders and even tarantulas, especially during the warmer months like July and August. —Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Apr. 2026

In that video, the influencer appears to come across what is seemingly the carcass of an alligator floating in the water and shoots it repeatedly. —Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2026

Eichler works in customer service and occasionally comes across customers who do not speak English. —Corina Vanek, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026

Any viewer watching a few hours of TV or streaming video every day is likely to come across a dizzying array of commercials, loaded up with different characters, special effects, crazy antics and popular songs. —Brian Steinberg, Variety, 14 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1775, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for come across

• albatross
• applesauce
• barabbas
• helios
• kshatriyas
• backcross
• crisscross
• lacrosse
• recross
• tomas
• blas
• bos