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

Buc-ee’s knockoffs are cropping up, and the brand has even filed suit against an apparel company for riffing on their mascot’s famous profile. —Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 13 Jan. 2026

While a whole host of startups have cropped up (and failed, considering the challenges of scaling up new materials) over the years, Gucci decided to bring its R&D in-house to ensure that any innovations match the Italian fashion house’s necessary specifications. —Emily Chan, Vogue, 9 Jan. 2026

If that was all that was needed, the Goblin would have been a success, but problems cropped up – not with the fighter but with the bomber. —New Atlas, 8 Jan. 2026

In the past few years, though, fresh boutique hotels have cropped up all over town—and âme, with its Scandi-Japanese design and third-wave coffee shop vibe, is the smartest of the bunch. —Chris Schalkx, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Jan. 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