comes up empty

phrase

present tense third-person singular of come up empty
as in fails
to be unsuccessful We searched for a viable candidate but came up empty.

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for comes up empty
falls short
Phrase
  • Under the terms of its settlement agreement, if Paramount falls short of its annual quotas, it’ll be fined $30 million per film, 90% of which will be paid out to film workers and 10% to the National Association of Attorneys General.
    — Sarah Whitten, CNBC, 25 Sep. 2026
  • When performance falls short, our instinct is often to add more training, information, oversight, processes or competency development.
    — Dr Natalie Callis, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of falls short
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.

Browse Nearby Words

comes up
comes up empty
comes up with
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Cite this Entry

“Comes up empty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/comes%20up%20empty. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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