/kum/ , v. , came, come, coming , n.
v.i.
1. to approach or move toward a particular person or place: Come here. Don't come any closer!
2. to arrive by movement or in the course of progress: The train from Boston is coming.
3. to approach or arrive in time, in succession, etc.: Christmas comes once a year. I'll come to your question next.
4. to move into view; appear.
5. to extend; reach: The dress comes to her knees.
6. to take place; occur; happen: Success comes to those who strive.
7. to occur at a certain point, position, etc.: Tuesday comes after Monday. Her aria comes in the third act.
8. to be available, produced, offered, etc.: Toothpaste comes in a tube.
9. to occur to the mind: The idea just came to me.
10. to befall: They promised no harm would come to us.
11. to issue; emanate; be derived: Peaches come from trees. Good results do not come from careless work.
12. to arrive or appear as a result: This comes of carelessness.
13. to enter or be brought into a specified state or condition: to come into popular use.
14. to do or manage; fare: She's coming along well with her work.
15. to enter into being or existence; be born: The baby came at dawn.
16. to have been a resident or to be a native of (usually fol. by from ): She comes from Florida.
17. to become: His shoes came untied.
18. to seem to become: His fears made the menacing statues come alive. The work will come easy with a little practice.
19. (used in the imperative to call attention or to express impatience, anger, remonstrance, etc.): Come, that will do!
20. to germinate, as grain.
21. Informal. to have an orgasm.
v.t.
22. Chiefly Brit. to do; perform; accomplish.
23. Informal. to play the part of: to come the grande dame.
24. come about ,
a. to come to pass; happen.
b. Naut. to tack.
25. come across ,
a. Also, come upon . to find or encounter, esp. by chance: I came across this picture when I was cleaning out the attic. We suddenly came upon a deer while walking in the woods.
b. Informal. to make good one's promise, as to pay a debt, do what is expected, etc.: to come across with the rent.
c. to be understandable or convincing: The moral of this story doesn't come across.
d. Informal. to make a particular impression; comport oneself: She comes across as a very cold person.
26. come again , (used as a request to repeat a statement).
27. come along ,
a. to accompany someone, attend as part of a group: He didn't come along on the last trip.
b. to proceed, develop, or advance sufficiently or successfully: The new project was coming along quite smoothly.
c. to appear; emerge as a factor or possibility: Even if another job comes along this summer, I won't take it.
28. come and go , to occur briefly or suddenly but never for long; appear and disappear.
29. come around or round ,
a. to recover consciousness; revive.
b. to change one's opinion, decision, etc., esp. to agree with another's.
c. to visit: Come around more often.
d. to cease being angry, hurt, etc.
30. come at ,
a. to arrive at; attain.
b. to rush at; attack: The watchdog came at the intruder.
31. come back ,
a. to return, esp. to one's memory: It all comes back to me now.
b. to return to a former position or state.
c. to talk back; retort: to come back with a witty remark.
32. come between , to cause to be estranged or antagonized: Love of money came between the brothers.
33. come by , to obtain; acquire: How did he ever come by so much money?
34. come down ,
a. to lose wealth, rank, etc.; be reduced in circumstances or status.
b. to be handed down by tradition or inheritance.
c. to be relayed or passed along from a source of higher rank or authority: The general's orders will come down tomorrow.
d. Slang. to take place; happen.
e. Slang. to lose one's euphoria, enthusiasm, or esp. the effects of a drug high.
35. come down on or upon ,
a. to voice one's opposition to: She came down on increased spending and promised to cut the budget.
b. to reprimand; scold: He came down on me for getting to work late.
36. come down on the side of , to support or favor: I want to come down on the side of truth and justice.
37. come down with , to become afflicted with (an illness): Many people came down with the flu this year.
38. come forward , to offer one's services; present oneself; volunteer: When the president called for volunteers, several members of our group came forward.
39. come home , Naut.
a. (of an anchor) to begin to drag.
b. (of an object) to move when hauled upon.
40. come in ,
a. to enter.
b. to arrive.
c. to come into use or fashion.
d. to begin to produce or yield: The oil well finally came in.
e. to be among the winners: His horse came in and paid 5 to 1.
f. to finish in a race or any competition, as specified: Our bobsled team came in fifth.
41. come in for , to receive; get; be subjected to: This plan will no doubt come in for a great deal of criticism.
42. come into ,
a. to acquire; get.
b. to inherit: He came into a large fortune at the age of 21.
43. come off , Informal.
a. to happen; occur.
b. to reach the end; acquit oneself: to come off with honors.
c. to be given or completed; occur; result: Her speech came off very well.
d. to succeed; be successful: The end of the novel just doesn't come off.
44. come off it , Informal. to stop being wrong, foolish, or pretentious; be truthful or honest: Come off it - we know you're as poor as the rest of us.
45. come on ,
a. Also, come upon . to meet or find unexpectedly.
b. to make progress; develop; flourish.
c. to appear on stage; make one's entrance.
d. to begin; appear: The last showing will be coming on in a few minutes.
e. Informal. (used chiefly in the imperative) to hurry; begin: Come on, before it rains!
f. Informal. (as an entreaty or attempt at persuasion) please: Come on, go with us to the movies.
g. Slang. to try to make an impression or have an effect; present oneself: She comes on a bit too strong for my taste.
h. Slang. to make sexual advances: a Lothario who was always coming on with the women at the office.
46. come on to , Slang. to make sexual advances to.
47. come out ,
a. to be published; appear.
b. to become known; be revealed.
c. to make a debut in society, the theater, etc.
d. to end; terminate; emerge: The fight came out badly, as both combatants were injured.
e. to make more or less public acknowledgment of being homosexual.
48. come out for , to endorse or support publicly: The newspaper came out for the reelection of the mayor.
49. come out with ,
a. to speak, esp. to confess or reveal something.
b. to make available to the public; bring out: The publisher is coming out with a revised edition of the textbook.
50. come over ,
a. to happen to; affect: What's come over him?
b. to change sides or positions; change one's mind: He was initially against the plan, but he's come over now.
c. to visit informally: Our neighbors came over last night and we had a good chat.
51. come round ,
a. See come (def. 29).
b. Naut. (of a sailing vessel) to head toward the wind; come to.
52. come through ,
a. to endure or finish successfully.
b. Informal. to do as expected or hoped; perform; succeed: We knew you'd come through for us.
c. Informal. to experience religious conversion.
53. come to ,
a. to recover consciousness.
b. to amount to; total.
c. Naut. to take the way off a vessel, as by bringing her head into the wind or anchoring.
54. come to pass , to happen; occur.
55. come under ,
a. to fit into a category or classification: This play comes under the heading of social criticism.
b. to be the province or responsibility of: This matter comes under the State Department.
56. come up ,
a. to be referred to; arise: The subject kept coming up in conversation.
b. to be presented for action or discussion: The farm bill comes up for consideration next Monday.
57. come upon . See come (defs. 25a, 45a).
58. come up to ,
a. to approach; near: A panhandler came up to us in the street.
b. to compare with as to quantity, excellence, etc.; match; equal: This piece of work does not come up to your usual standard.
59. come up with , to produce; supply: Can you come up with the right answer?
60. come what may , no matter what may happen; regardless of any opposition, argument, or consequences: Come what may, he will not change his mind.
61. where one is coming from , Slang. where the source of one's beliefs, attitudes, or feelings lies: It's hard to understand where your friend is coming from when he says such crazy things.
n.
62. Slang ( vulgar ). semen.
[ bef. 900; ME comen, OE cuman; c. D komen, G kommen, Goth qiman, ON koma, L venire (see AVENUE), Gk baínein (see BASIS), Skt gácchati (he) goes ]
Ant. 2. leave, depart.