come about

British  

verb

1. to take place; happen

2. nautical to change tacks

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come about Idioms  

1. Also, come to pass . Happen, take place, as in How did this quarrel come about? or When did this new development come to pass? Shakespeare used the first term, first recorded in 1315, in Hamlet (5:2): “How these things came about.” The variant, dating from the late 1400s, appears often in the Bible, as in, “And it came to pass ... that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus” (Luke 2:1).

2. Also, go about . In sailing, to change tack (direction), as in It's important to duck under the boom when we come about . [Mid-1500s]

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Example Sentences

Chinese exports to 20 Japanese companies will require a certification process, Beijing announced, with details to come about what that process is.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 24, 2026

“A lot of fights come about because you just assume priorities are the same,” Joy says.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 14, 2026

We are only 11 rounds into the 2025-26 season and already we have had 12 goals come about this way.

From BBC • Nov. 22, 2025

It would take some sort of shock event for a recession to really come about at this point.

From Barron's • Nov. 17, 2025

“Now, my duckling,” she said pleasantly, “how did it come about that you’re on such bad terms with the Huntsmen?”

From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander