come across
Britishverb
-
(preposition) to meet or find by accident
-
(adverb) (of a person or his or her words) to communicate the intended meaning or impression
-
(often foll by with) to provide what is expected
-
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.”
-
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]
-
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.
"It's only when you start thinking 'what's in this drawer', that sometimes you come across something and you think, 'Ah, this looks interesting'," he said.
From BBC • Jun. 29, 2026
If Ms. Orton sang like her 19-year-old self, had the songs been tight constructions manicured by a hired-gun songwriter, had her insights felt unearned, such a declaration could have come across as trite.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 23, 2026
The organisation's president Edmund King advised drivers to slow down and avoid harsh braking or steering if they come across a softened or damaged road surface.
From BBC • Jun. 22, 2026
As a result, he injected levity into a role that could have come across as purely unsympathetic.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
During the first days they did not come across any appreciable obstacle.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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.
