What does the verb come mean?

The word “come” helps you convey the idea of moving toward a point of reference.

You can use it to describe:

Aspect When to use Examples
Movement or arrival Someone or something moves, returns, or enters.
come back
come in
come over
Change of state or opinion These verbs describe a change in a person’s attitude or condition.
come to
come down with
Results or outcomes You can use them to talk about someone’s actions that lead to a result.
come through
come off
Occurrence or development Something happens or progresses
come up
come about

This focus on direction and movement blends this word perfectly with prepositions like up, across, out, and into. But when they couple, many of these phrases transition from physical movement to abstract ideas.

Most common phrasal verbs with “come”

Phrases with “come” will help you sound confident, as they allow you to express your ideas more concisely.

Here are 25 English phrasal verbs with “come” that we are going to explore right now:

  1. Come after
  2. Come across
  3. Come about
  4. Come along
  5. Come away
  6. Come apart
  7. Come around
  8. Come at
  9. Come back
  10. Come by
  11. Come between
  12. Come down
  13. Come down to
  14. Come down with
  15. Come forth
  16. Come from
  17. Come for
  18. Come in
  19. Come off
  20. Come out
  21. Come over
  22. Come through
  23. Come together
  24. Come to
  25. Come up

Below, you’ll find the contexts in which the verb is used and see examples of “come” in a sentence for each case.

Come after

Starting off our list of “come” phrasal verbs, come after encodes movement toward a specific target.

  1. To chase someone in order to capture:
Thugs were concerned that the police might come after them.
  1. To follow in time or order:
What comes after the interview stage?

Come across

The meaning of come across depends on whether it’s used with an object or not.

  1. To behave a certain way that makes an impression about your character:
My manager comes across as confident. 
  1. To accidentally find something or meet someone:
I came across a curious article.

Come about

When something comes about, it simply means to happen.

How did your passion for playing the violin come about?
Our first meeting with investors came about during our trip.

Come along

Coming along means arriving at a place of destination, especially when accompanying someone.

Phrasal Verb Come along Phrasal Verb Come along 1
We want to see a new play at the theater, do you want to come along?
You’re welcome to come along if you are free.

Come away

To come away shifts from physical separation to someone’s impression.

  1. To detach physically:
One of the tiles came away from the wall. 
  1. To leave a situation with an idea or impression:
He came away feeling frustrated by his new task. 

Come apart

To come apart means to break into small pieces. This expression can also be used figuratively to describe a situation.

I tried to build an origami figure, but it kept coming apart in my hands.
My relationship started to come apart long before we separated.

Come around

It’s an inseparable phrasal verb that can refer to time, opinion or movement.

  1. To visit someone:
Will you come around on Friday? 
  1. To change your mind about something:
It took Jane a while to come around to the job offer.
  1. To happen after some time (typically refers to events and seasons):
In a few weeks, Halloween will be coming around.  

Come at

To come at someone means moving in their direction, physically preparing to attack them. The expression can be used to describe a verbal confrontation as well.

My friend tried to come at me after an argument.
You should know how to defend yourself if someone comes at you.

Come back

When someone or something comes back, it means they return to their original place. Interestingly, the joint word “comeback” refers to giving a snarky or witty reply to someone’s comment.

When are you coming back to Alaska?
When will Blackpink come back with a new album? 

Come by

The meaning of this phrasal verb with “come” depends on whether it is followed by an object.

Phrasal Verb Come by Phrasal Verb Come by 1
  1. To obtain something:
How did she come by this house at such a young age?
  1. To visit a place:
He’ll come by later and drop his sports equipment. 

Come between

When a particular problem or situation arises between people, it means it harms their relationship and causes them to disagree.

Mary’s decisions came between her and her parents.
Our different views on marriage came between us.

Come down

If something comes down, it becomes physically or figuratively lower, i.e., descending in level.

The prices for housing haven’t come down yet.
The temperature came down last night.

Come down to

When a situation or a choice comes down to something, it refers to the most influential or fundamental factor.

Promotion comes down to experience.
It all comes down to timing.

Come down with

Coming down with means to suddenly become ill. 

Phrasal Verb Come down with Phrasal Verb Come down with 1
I can’t come to work today, I came down with the flu.
My son often pretends he comes down with a stomachache.

Come forth

To come forth means to step out into view physically or to tell the truth about something figuratively.

Several witnesses came forth with new evidence. 
The defendant came forth about his crimes during the trial.

Come from

Coming from refers to a stative expression rather than an event or an action. 

  1. To originate in a place:
Even though I live in New York now, I come from France.
  1. The cause of the problem or situation:
This assumption comes from ignorance.

Come for

When someone comes for another person or an object, it means they arrive to collect or escort it. This phrasal verb sometimes refers to a potentially dangerous situation.

My son thinks a monster will come for him.
They will come for the documents.

Come in

Come in is a simple phrasal verb with the word “come” that doesn’t require a destination or a stated object. 

  1. To enter a place:
Hello, mind if I come in to make a quick call?
  1. To become involved: 
To come in on a project, you get an onboarding session.

Come off

Come off is used to describe a result rather than the action itself. 

Phrasal Verb Come of Phrasal Verb Come of 1
  1. To give a particular impression:
You can’t control how you come off to people. 
  1. To fail:
The meeting didn’t come off as planned. 
  1. To succeed at something:
Fortunately, the rescue operation came off. 

Come out

You can use come out to talk about something new becoming publicly available. 

The new episode is coming out next Wednesday.
The truth about this fraud is going to come out someday. 

Come over

Coming over is used in informal English literally and figuratively. 

  1. To visit or move toward someone:
I told Jenny she can come over to our house anytime.
  1. To be suddenly influenced by a feeling:
Something came over me when I watched Titanic.

Come through

When something comes through, like a message or an emotion, it means it was well-communicated and received by other members of the conversation.

Did your invitation to our wedding come through in time?
He always makes sure his emotions come through to me.

Come together

Come together is used when a group of people, such as friends or family members, meet and gather together for some kind of activity.

Phrasal Verb Come together Phrasal Verb Come together 1
My friends come together and organize a party for me every year. 
Before the pandemic, my large family used to come together.

Come to

When someone comes to, it means they have regained consciousness after surgery or an accident.

It took me hours to come to after a procedure. 
After I came to, I realized that I was just in a car accident.

Come up

The last phrasal verb with the word “come” in our list is come up, which means to appear or arise. 

Our past comes up in our discussions.
A problem came up just before the deadline. 

Common mistakes learners make

With so many meanings and variables, it’s easy to forget how to create sentences with “come”. Read further to learn about frequent cases to avoid.

  • Confusing similar phrasal verbs

One small particle can entirely change the meaning of a phrasal verb. It’s important to memorize them and not to use them interchangeably. 

Incorrect Correct
An interesting idea came across in the meeting. 
An interesting idea came up in the meeting. 
He came up to a new solution. 
He came up with a new solution. 
  • Adding unnecessary prepositions

Some phrases may feel short and unnatural, especially if you try to translate them from your native language. That’s why you need to learn phrasal verbs in context and use them as they are, without any extra words. 

Incorrect Correct
He came across with an interesting book 
He came across an interesting book. 
They came back to home very late.
They came back home very late.
  • Following a wrong word order 

Most phrasal verbs are inseparable, with their order fixed. When learning them, you need to check them in the dictionary. 

Incorrect Correct
He came yesterday with down a cold.
He came down with a cold yesterday.
The plan came successfully off. 
The plan came off successfully. 

Practice section

You’ve read so many examples and got familiar with frequently occurring hiccups. It’s time to check how well you’ve grasped the topic by completing these exercises. 

Type 1: Multiple choice (ABC)
Choose the correct option to complete each question:
1
A new issue ___ during the meeting, so we had to delay the launch.
2
No one knows how the rumor ___ in the first place.
3
It took her months to ___ to the idea of moving abroad.
4
Their disagreement almost ___ their friendship.
5
The invitation finally ___ after several technical problems.
Type 2: True/false statements:
Put the following words in the correct order:
1
police
after
came
The
suspects
the
2
across
interesting
came
I
fact
an
3
along?
didn’t
Why
you
come
4
apart
pressure
under
team
The
came
5
over
Why
don’t
come
later?
you
Type 3: Fill in the gaps
Write a correct answer using what you learned:
1
He was nervous when the manager suddenly him during the meeting.
2
Prices finally after months of inflation.
3
She couldn’t attend class because she a bad cold.
4
After the argument, she refused to say where her anger
5
They promised to the documents by noon.

How to remember “come” phrasal verbs more easily

It doesn’t always work to memorize these words just by repeating them multiple times until they stick in your mind. Upon reading, you’ll learn about some tricks that will help you crack the complexity of the topic.

Tip 1. Group them

It will be easier to memorize these verbs by separating them into different categories, as we’ve done above. By doing this, you’ll be able to use them more freely.

Group Phrasal Verbs Group Phrasal Verbs 1

Tip 2. Make them true for you

Write sentences using the target words and apply them to your life. What secret information came out in your favorite book? Do your cousins come together? This will help you recall phrasal verbs fast.

Tip 3. Practice enough

It takes time to learn 25 phrasal verbs. So it’s important to revise them from time to time. You can use this list, your notes, and videos on YouTube just to be sure you remember them. To work on more language aspects, it’s good to write sentences using difficult English tenses, like Past Perfect or Future Perfect Continuous.

Conclusion

Wrapping your head around phrasal verbs with the word “come” is not an easy undertaking for a non-native student who strives to become as fluent in the English language as possible. However, to master casual conversations in English, you must be well-versed in a lot of types of informal speech.

In this article, we took a closer look at the 25 most widely used “come” phrasal verbs and explained how you can apply them in your day-to-day life when learning English. Be sure to practice skills daily to stay on top of your progress.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What are the most common phrasal verbs with “come”?

When reading stories, watching movies, and talking to native speakers, you’ll surely hear phrasal verbs like:

  • come in 
  • come back
  • come across
  • come out
Are “come” phrasal verbs formal or informal?

Most phrasal verbs with the word “come” are either informal or neutral. When writing academic research papers or legal documents, speakers typically use single-word alternatives. 

Can these phrasal verbs have more than one meaning?

Yes, they can. You can see in the list that many verbs have more than one meaning. For example, the verb “come around” can have three different meanings depending on the context.  

What level of English do I need to learn phrasal verbs with “come”?

At any level of English, these words can be useful. For instance, “come in” and “come back” are frequently used by learners at the beginning of their study. Come up, come over, and come forth are for intermediate and advanced levels.