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 This usage, dating from about 1600, superseded the earlier sense of acquiring something with considerable effort.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 it offers stability and solid benefits in an economy where both are hard to come by.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 10, 2026

With China's economy slowing and well-paying jobs in traditional sectors harder to come by, many blue-collar workers like Zhang are looking to retrain.

From Barron's • Jul. 2, 2026

With players often overlooking fellow women as potential coaches, it leaves opportunities hard to come by for those dreaming of a job at the top of the sport.

From BBC • Jun. 23, 2026

A precise count is hard to come by, however, as many vessels “go dark,” or turn off their transponder-like signals and radars in attempting to safely cross the strait.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 22, 2026

“Before you go home,” Grandma said, “you come by the house. I have some things I want to send to your mother.”

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

Related Words

• come over
• drop by
• drop in