come up

verb

came up; come up; coming up; comes up
Synonyms of come upnext

intransitive verb

1
2
: to come near : make an approach
came up and introduced himself
3
: to rise in rank or status
an officer who came up from the ranks
4
a
: to come to attention or consideration
the question never came up
b
: to occur in the course of time
any problem that may come up
5
: to turn out to be
the coin came up tails
6
chiefly dialectal : grow up

see also come up empty, come up with

Examples of come up in a Sentence

the girl came up to the counter and asked if she could have her order prepared to go let me know if anything else comes up during the project
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.
The team came up just short in 1995 against the Dallas Cowboys. Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 10 Feb. 2026 But Oakman said that detainer would likely not have come up in this situation. Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 10 Feb. 2026 Laura Dudnick explains their focus is coming up with a plan that honors educators while being fiscally responsible, so the district can get out of state oversight. Amanda Hari, CBS News, 10 Feb. 2026 The marketing department came up with a tale to satisfy their curiosity. Sal Pizarro, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for come up

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of come up was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Come up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come%20up. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.

Kids Definition

come up

verb
1
: rise entry 1 sense 4
the sun comes up in an hour
2
: to come near or approach
came up and introduced himself
3
: to come to attention : introduce sense 4
the question came up again
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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