crop up

verb

cropped up; cropping up; crops up

intransitive verb

: to come or appear when not expected
New problems crop up every day.
His name crops up frequently as a potential candidate.

Examples of crop up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Creative accounting, of course, has a long history of cropping up during a boom, a tradition dating far back, to the Gilded Age when inflating assets, understating liabilities, and bribery were commonplace. Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2025 Shrines crop up in her honor — both from those who wish to avoid her wrath and others who approve of her killings. Alyssa Mercante, Rolling Stone, 25 Sep. 2025 Still, any gun training class will have to land on some key answers to thorny questions that will crop up from trainees. Nick Penzenstadler, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025 The state funding that flows into them has also grown rapidly, along with the number of virtual schools cropping up statewide. Nashville Tennessean, 24 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for crop up

Word History

Etymology

Note: See note at crop entry 2

First Known Use

1844, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of crop up was in 1844

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Crop up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crop%20up. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on crop up

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