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.
“He could come across as self-effacing and deferential, but in Don’s skilled hands those were qualities that made him an enormously strong and effective leader,” Boccardi said.
From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2026
What a wild way to come across this piece of information.
From MarketWatch • May 20, 2026
We come across the burnt-out remains of a car.
From BBC • May 20, 2026
If you’re chronically online like me, you’ve probably come across a slang-suffix that’s become part of the lexicon despite not being formally added to a dictionary — yet.
From Salon • May 7, 2026
When she tries to come across normal like this, it’s so weird.
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
