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 This usage, dating from about 1600, superseded the earlier sense of acquiring something with considerable effort.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

Arm Holdings’ stock is up nearly 40% from its February lows, but a Morgan Stanley analyst is arguing that further momentum may be harder to come by.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026

Stafford had also phoned Jessica and asked her to come by the police department.

From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026

It would be a seemingly dependable, predictable roommate relationship, and those are hard enough to come by as it is.

From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026

"A win's a win, they're not easy to come by, so it's nice to get your hand in the air."

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

“They said to come by after noon prayers to discuss the date of the next meet. Maybe Wednesday if her dad can reschedule an appointment.”

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali

Related Words

• come over
• drop by
• drop in