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 of come about

• happen
• be
• come down
• come
• occur

Examples of come about in a Sentence

how did all this come about?

Recent Examples on the Web

Once that period of time passes, a more in-depth investigation is required to bring arrestable charges against a suspect; in Lussier's case, the auditor's report noted that her final 911 call came about half an hour beyond the window. —Conor Wight, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2026

How did the Wonder Works-Paramount partnership first come about? —Jennifer Maas, Variety, 24 Apr. 2026

Torre reported the deal came about seven months after Ballmer personally invested $50 million in Aspiration, in September 2021, and the Clippers announced their $300 million sponsorship deal. —Janis Carr, Oc Register, 23 Apr. 2026

The power struggle came about after Rivas challenged Rendon, capitalizing on Democrats’ frustrations over changes in committee leadership and Rendon’s shelving of a single-payer health care bill. —Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 22 Apr. 2026

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