come up

British  

verb

1. to come to a place regarded as higher

2. (of the sun) to rise

3. to begin

   a wind came up

4. to be regurgitated or vomited

5. to present itself or be discussed

   that question will come up again

6. to begin a term, esp one's first term, at a college or university

7. to appear from out of the ground

   my beans have come up early this year

8. informal to win

   have your premium bonds ever come up?

9. to be faced with; come into conflict or competition with

10. to equal or meet a standard

    that just doesn't come up to scratch

11. to produce or find

    she always comes up with the right answer

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come up Idioms  

1. Arise, present itself, as in This question never came up . [Mid-1800s]

2. Rise (from a lower place to a higher one) as in We'll leave as soon as the sun comes up . [9th century]

3. 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]

4. 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 .

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Example Sentences

Meier said he was impressed by Etienne’s abilities and told him he seemed to have what it takes to compete in the Games, which were coming up in about a year’s time.

From The Wall Street Journal

"The lovely staff at the Woolton Cinema were really helpful, and they came up with loads of great ideas."

From BBC

Japan has come up with a novel way of tackling the growing menace of bear attacks... by eating them.

From Barron's

"Some of the footballers he comes up against don't have the same base he has. That's why he's stocky, strong and really competitive - because of wrestling."

From BBC

And I love that Steve gets to have his a-ha moment where he comes up with what may be the plan that ends all this.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• arise
• crop up
• occur
• rise
• turn up