1
: something (such as an advertising promotion) intended to entice or allure
2
: a usually sexual advance
came on; come on; coming on; comes on
1
a
: to advance by degrees
darkness coming on
b
: to begin by degrees
The rain came on toward noon.
2
a
: please
—used in cajoling or pleading
Come on, just one more time.
b
—used interjectionally to express astonishment, incredulity, or recognition of a put-on
Come on, do you expect me to believe that?
3
: to project an indicated personal image
comes on as a conservative
4
: to show sexual interest in someone
also
: to make sexual advances
—usually used with to
tried to come on to me
Examples of come-on in a Sentence
Noun
the spectacular sale was enough of a come-on to get many shoppers to try the store for the first time
Recent Examples on the Web
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2025
Gambling has become fully integrated with the delivery mechanisms of live sports, so there’s no way to put all the various come-ons and promos on pause while the arrests of Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones dominate the news cycle.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Jeff Young, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025
The latest in the back-and-forth came on Tuesday evening, when Durant responded to a post on X about Green’s comments.
—Jordy Fee-Platt, New York Times, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for come-on
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Noun
Guests in attendance for this lavish soirée include George’s fellow intellectuals, a large number of dapper hedonists, the handsome horndog Judge Roland Brack (Nicholas Pinnock) — whose wolf-whistle come-ons are neither fully rebuffed nor reciprocated by Hedda — and Thea (Imogen Poots, wasted).
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2025
Gambling has become fully integrated with the delivery mechanisms of live sports, so there’s no way to put all the various come-ons and promos on pause while the arrests of Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones dominate the news cycle.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
The talks come on the heels of the world’s warmest two years and record high emissions of greenhouse gases.
—Jeff Young, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025
The latest in the back-and-forth came on Tuesday evening, when Durant responded to a post on X about Green’s comments.
—Jordy Fee-Platt, New York Times, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for come-on
Cite this Entry
“Come-on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come-on. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
come on
intransitive verb
: to be brought forward (as a case in court)
the first prize case of the war…came on for trial—W. G. Young
W. G. YoungLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
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