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.
We come across the burnt-out remains of a car.
From BBC • May 20, 2026
“Don’t fall into the trap of clicking ‘apply’ to every job you come across where you vaguely meet the criteria, as this can become discouraging,” said Duris.
From MarketWatch • May 15, 2026
I had come across a few Muffler Men before this trip, including Big Josh, who looks down upon Joshua Tree from the Station gift shop on State Route 62.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
Some top AI executives have pledged to provide a large portion of their earnings to charity, alongside rank-and-file employees who didn’t expect to come across such life-changing wealth.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
As we make our way through the maze of kids, corridors, and staircases, we come across another little kid stranded in a sea of gigantic, frantic eighth graders.
From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein
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.
