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

McKinsey projects some six million small-business transitions are coming by 2035, representing up to $5 trillion in enterprise value. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2026

The subscribers just started coming by the hundreds of thousands damn near overnight. — Elizabeth Gulino, Allure, 9 Sep. 2026

The dystopia depicted in the ad came by way of George Orwell’s imagination, but the fears underlying it had deep American roots. — Jake Lundberg, The Atlantic, 3 Sep. 2026

Chris Barish, the co-owner, came by our table and stayed to tell stories, which is how the best dinners come to be. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for come by

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

Kids Definition

come by

verb

1

: to make a visit

come by after dinner

2

: acquire

good help is hard to come by