come up
Britishverb
-
to come to a place regarded as higher
-
(of the sun) to rise
-
to begin
a wind came up
-
to be regurgitated or vomited
-
to present itself or be discussed
that question will come up again
-
to begin a term, esp one's first term, at a college or university
-
to appear from out of the ground
my beans have come up early this year
-
informal to win
have your premium bonds ever come up?
-
to be faced with; come into conflict or competition with
-
to equal or meet a standard
that just doesn't come up to scratch
-
to produce or find
she always comes up with the right answer
-
Arise, present itself, as in This question never came up . [Mid-1800s]
-
Rise (from a lower place to a higher one) as in We'll leave as soon as the sun comes up . [9th century]
-
Also, come up to . Approach, come near, as in He came up and said hello , or The dog came right up to Nora . [Early 1700s]
-
Also, come up to . Rise in status or value, be equal to, as in His paintings will never come up to his teacher's , or This officer came up through the ranks . [c. 1600] A variant is , used for someone who has risen in rank, wealth, or status; for example, He has really come up in the world—he now owns a yacht , or I could see at once that she was a woman who would rise in the world . Also see the subsequent idioms beginning with come up .
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.
“I don’t really understand why this decision come up because where are we going to send 300,000 Haitians?”
From Salon • Jun. 27, 2026
That could happen as early as next week, when the bill with the new provisions is scheduled to come up again in a Senate committee for debate.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 25, 2026
“For a lot of guys, balding is the first thing they come up against where they really don’t have any control.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 24, 2026
Germany, like many industrialised economies, is struggling with an ageing population and last year appointed an expert commission to come up with suggested reforms to its pension system.
From Barron's • Jun. 23, 2026
“Much better. If you want to come up next time, I’d like that.”
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
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.
