come across
Britishverb
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(preposition) to meet or find by accident
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(adverb) (of a person or his or her words) to communicate the intended meaning or impression
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(often foll by with) to provide what is expected
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Also, come upon ; run across . Meet or find by chance, as in I came across your old letters today , or He came upon her looking in the store window . or If I run across it, I'll call you . The first term dates from the 1800s. The first variant was used by Oliver Goldsmith in She Stoops to Conquer (1773): “You are to go sideways till you come upon Crack-Skull Common.” The second variant was used by Mark Twain in Tramp Abroad (1880): “If I don't run across you in Italy, you hunt me up in London.”
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Also, come across with . Pay or give what is expected or demanded, as in He finally came across with some food , or The landlord wants the rent, so come across . [ Colloquial ; late 1800s]
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Make a particular impression, as in He comes across as a very sincere person or Her meaning doesn't really come across; she'll have to revise the speech . [ Colloquial ; first half of 1900s] Also see get across ; put across .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Your aunt may not have meant to have come across so aggressively.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
On most of our skinflint planet, you will come across gold at concentrations of five parts per billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Harris later wrote in her memoir 107 Days that she told Biden that his public comments about innocent Gazans could come across as “inadequate and forced.”
From Slate ● Sep. 25, 2026
Falmouth Coastguard's Tom Bolt said a diver had come across the device and alerted the coastguard.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
“Trevor is so naughty. He’s the naughtiest child I’ve ever come across in my life.”
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
