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Synonyms

crop up

British  

verb

  1. informal (intr, adverb) to occur or appear, esp unexpectedly

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
crop up Idioms  

  1. Appear unexpectedly or occasionally, as in One theory that crops up periodically is the influence of sunspots on stock prices, or We hope new talent will crop up in the next freshman class. [Mid-1800s]

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.

The figures do not include spending on campaigns visible across the entire United Kingdom, which could also crop up on social media feeds in Wales.

From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026

Block’s concerns crop up at a time when the market is extremely concerned about developing problems in the private-credit sector and the potential spillover from any crisis there would also impact the publicly-traded credit markets.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell in February, each suffering its worst month since tariff turmoil started to crop up in markets last spring.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

Plus, you’ll also have a real person to talk to if problems crop up after April 15.

From Barron's • Feb. 3, 2026

When a widely useful invention does crop up in one society, it then tends to spread in either of two ways.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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.