come about

verb

came about; come about; coming about; comes about

intransitive verb

1

: happen

2

: to change direction

the wind has come about into the north

3

: to shift to a new tack

Synonyms

• be
• befall
• betide
• chance
• come
• come down
• come off
• cook
• do
• go down [slang]
• go on
• hap
• happen
• occur
• pass
• transpire

Examples of come about in a Sentence

how did all this come about?

Recent Examples on the Web

The department also recently ended a decades-old school desegregation order in Louisiana that came about in the wake of the Supreme Court's landmark Brown v. Board of Education case. —Bart Jansen, USA Today, 22 May 2025

One of the discoveries came about because Viégas is from Brazil. —Jonathan L. Zittrain, The Atlantic, 21 May 2025

So how did the idea of Saks and Gurung getting together to cohost a cocktail party come about? —Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 16 May 2025

Sinclair says the rum note in it came about after plenty of experimentation—and alludes to the debauchery of a long night after-hours—while the cherry that forms the heart of the perfume (derived from pure cherry extract) is another gourmand note with sultry connotations. —Lori Keong, Architectural Digest, 16 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for come about

• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout
• dugout

Kids Definition

come about

verb

1

: happen sense 2

2

: to change direction

the wind has come about into the north