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

The conjecture says that even within enormous, scattered and chaotic assemblages of points existing across innumerable dimensions, simple, orderly shapes will inevitably crop up. —Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 19 May 2026

Consider the small Himalayan nation of Bhutan, where all tobacco sales were banned in 2004 but cigarettes remained easy to access because a black market quickly cropped up. —Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 19 May 2026

These sweeping statements litter headlines, crop up in conversation and get trotted out on social media. —Alex Cooper, Fortune, 16 May 2026

With spring weather warming up, yard sales, garage sales, and collective neighborhood sales are cropping up on the weekends, and many know that arriving early ensures deals to be had at these weekend yard sale events. —Rebecca Jones, Southern Living, 16 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Note: See note at crop entry 2

First Known Use

1844, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for crop up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup