come about
Britishverb
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to take place; happen
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nautical to change tacks
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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).
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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]
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.
This has come about as risks over the private credit market have grown.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 3, 2026
What 250 years means: I think that with every year that passes, it’s important to do things differently, so that you can see how change can come about.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 2, 2026
And that has come about because of the increased electrification.
From BBC • May 14, 2026
Ironically, arbitration has come about ostensibly through willing agreement.
From Slate • Apr. 27, 2026
They all sat still, all bemused by the beauty of the thing, each mind was popped into the future when this lovely thing should come about.
From "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck
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.
