come and go

1. Arrive and depart, either briefly or repeatedly; go to and fro. Shakespeare had it in The Merry Wives of Windsor (2:2): “He may come and go between you both.” [Late 1300s]

2. Alternately appear and disappear, as in This rash is odd; it comes and goes . [Mid-1300s] Also see coming or going ; easy come, easy go .

Example Sentences

He likes to come and go as he pleases, but it’s challenging to drive and get around in the winter.

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“In a business where people come and go, most people don’t get 50 years,” he added.

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Geopolitical shocks that used to send the market into a tailspin now come and go, almost unnoticed.

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When you’re a sportswriter covering high school sports in Southern California since the 1970s, you meet lots of sports families who come and go.

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“It’s a human right. These women deserve to be able to come and go as they please.”

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Related Words

• alter 
• intersperse 
• rotate 
• vary 
• waver