I. What does “Come” mean?

The verb come generally means to move toward a person, place, or thing.

Examples:

  • Please come here.
  • She came home late.
  • My parents are coming tomorrow.

However, when combined with prepositions or adverbs, come creates phrasal verbs whose meanings often differ from the original verb.

For example:

  • come across = find by chance
  • come up with = think of an idea
  • come back = return

Because these meanings cannot always be guessed from the individual words, learning them as complete phrases is essential.

What does "Come" mean?
What does “Come” mean?

II. 30+ Common Phrasal Verbs with Come

There are many useful phrasal verbs with come that English learners should know.

No. Phrasal Verb Meaning
1 come across find by chance
2 come along accompany someone; make progress
3 come apart break into pieces
4 come around visit someone; regain consciousness; change one’s opinion
5 come back return
6 come before be more important than
7 come by get or obtain
8 come down fall; decrease
9 come down with become ill
10 come forward offer help or information
11 come from originate from
12 come in enter
13 come into inherit or receive
14 come off succeed; become detached
15 come on start; hurry up
16 come out be published; become known
17 come over visit someone’s house
18 come through survive; succeed
19 come to regain consciousness; total
20 come under be classified as
21 come up appear; be mentioned
22 come up against face difficulties
23 come up with think of or produce
24 come upon find unexpectedly
25 come after follow or chase
26 come between cause disagreement
27 come clean tell the truth
28 come close to almost do something
29 come first have the highest priority
30 come together unite
31 come under attack be attacked
32 come into effect begin to operate

Although they all begin with the verb come, each expression has a unique meaning depending on the particle that follows it.

Common Phrasal Verbs with Come
Common Phrasal Verbs with Come

See also:

III. Common examples of phrasal verbs with Come

Below are some of the most frequently used phrasal verbs with come in everyday English.

1. Come across

Meaning: Find something by chance.

Example: I came across an old photo while cleaning my room.

2. Come up with

Meaning: Think of an idea or solution.

Example: She came up with a brilliant marketing plan.

3. Come back

Meaning: Return.

Example: He’ll come back next week.

4. Come over

Meaning: Visit someone’s home.

Example: Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight?

5. Come down with

Meaning: Become sick.

Example: She came down with the flu yesterday.

Common examples of phrasal verbs with Come
Common examples of phrasal verbs with Come

Conclusion

Mastering phrasal verbs with come will make your English sound much more natural and fluent. Want to expand your vocabulary beyond phrasal verbs with come? GuruLango offers thousands of interactive English lessons covering phrasal verbs, idioms, grammar, pronunciation, and real-life conversations. With personalized learning paths, quizzes, and spaced repetition, GuruLango helps learners build lasting English skills anytime, anywhere.