come by

British  

verb

1. (intr, preposition) to find or obtain (a thing), esp accidentally

   do you ever come by any old books?

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come by Idioms  

1. Acquire, obtain, as in A good assistant is hard to come by . This usage, dating from about 1600, superseded the earlier sense of acquiring something with considerable effort. A variant is come by honestly , meaning “to obtain in some honorable or logical way.” For example, I'm sure she didn't come by that large bonus honestly or He does have an unusual gait but he came by it honestly; his father's is the same .

2. Stop in, visit, as in Please come by whenever you're in the neighborhood . [Late 1800s]

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Example Sentences

But the people showing up at county council meetings to protest the construction of a data center didn’t for the most part come by their convictions the old-fashioned way, by reading and thought.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026

The fires themselves killed and damaged a significant fraction of the areas’ urban tree cover — both private and public — although precise estimates are hard to come by.

From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026

“If my kids had to come by and see this, I would like to hear how you would explain to my children what you are supposed to be,” Babb says as he confronts Gamble.

From Slate • May 4, 2026

Chances from open play have been tough to come by for the Gunners this season and a battle to see who can outscore who may not fall in their favour.

From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026

I’ll come by tomorrow to return the camera.

From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya

Related Words

• come over
• drop by
• drop in