1
as in to visit
to make a brief visit
come by after work and I'll give you some clothes for the rummage sale
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in to win
to receive as return for effort
a literary award like that isn't easy to come by
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of come by
Everyone recognizes the problem, even if solutions are harder to come by.
—
Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 20 Oct. 2025
His missing football didn’t come by accident.
—Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2025
Unfortunately, those answers are not easy to come by.
—Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean, 20 Oct. 2025
Conveniently, two beautiful young strangers (Ana de Armas, Lorenza Izzo) come by late one stormy night, inviting themselves in and quickly seducing him.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 18 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for come by
Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 20 Oct. 2025
His missing football didn’t come by accident.
—Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2025
Unfortunately, those answers are not easy to come by.
—Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean, 20 Oct. 2025
Conveniently, two beautiful young strangers (Ana de Armas, Lorenza Izzo) come by late one stormy night, inviting themselves in and quickly seducing him.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 18 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for come by
Recent Examples of Synonyms for come by
Verb
-
It’s believed that the 13th-century castle is haunted by a magical imp who frequently visits the Markomanka and Hlíza, or black, towers.—
Sophie Friedman,
AFAR Media,
22 Oct. 2025
-
Their group would frequently visit a local restaurant, First Watch, for breakfast after their night shift ended.—
Craig Shoup,
Nashville Tennessean,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Not only did his son create the groundbreaking and award-winning theater production, but the musical also shares a special connection to the beginnings of his relationship with his wife, Luz Towns-Miranda.—
Erin Clack,
PEOPLE,
19 Oct. 2025
-
Two-time All Pro linebacker James Harrison led a fierce Pittsburgh Steelers defense for years, winning Defensive Player of the Year in 2008.—
Matt Audilet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
From playing catch-up to running in parallel Despite early limitations in solver speed, mesh handling, and model stability, Duan states that cloud-native architectures and AI now give Chinese CAE firms a rare opportunity to turn the tables on industry leaders.—
Ni Tao,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Oct. 2025
-
The streetcar has been running in its current form since 1914.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The starters in those games combined for 3 1/3 innings and 10 runs (six earned) allowed.—
Sahadev Sharma,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Anyone who gets into that position has definitely earned it.—
Rafa Sales Ross,
Variety,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Over the last two decades of accelerating digital politics, commentators are constantly pausing to observe that one party seems to have gained a permanent edge.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
20 Oct. 2025
-
Triumph Financial gained more than 2% in thin trading.—
Liz Napolitano,
CNBC,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Soon the 2012 Super Bowl champion and MVP could reap greater individual rewards from his stint as Cincinnati's new starter.—
Josh Buckhalter,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
-
For employees, startups used to dangle the carrot of being able to grow with new technology and reap the benefits of being acquired by a larger giant.—
Michelle Castillo,
CNBC,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Through more than a decade of running a business and raising a son, Whebbe and Paoli refused to give up on getting the Book Lady’s books into the hands of people who will love them.—
Mary Ann Grossmann,
Twin Cities,
20 Oct. 2025
-
That was our game plan, to get 11 guys to the ball.—
Jerry McDonald,
Mercury News,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
When it was announced that Girls collaborators Jenni Konner and Bruce Eric Kaplan (both Jewish) had been hired as showrunners for Season 2, the news brought some hope that Konner’s perspective in particular would help to make these characters lovable.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Not every such deprivation becomes a literal matter of life and death as in the play, but making use of such scenarios enables Shakespeare to highlight more effectively the danger of arbitrary action.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Come by.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/come%20by. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share