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.
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
"We've seen evidence previously of fulmars eating plastic and they've been found in their stomachs, so it is highly likely we could come across the same in some cases," Turner added.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
It can come across as polemical and yet somehow unavoidable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 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
“Yeah. So, sorry if I come across callous sometimes. Or, I don’t know, defensive. Most of the time I’m just confused.”
From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia
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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.
