come across
Britishverb
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(preposition) to meet or find by accident
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(adverb) (of a person or his or her words) to communicate the intended meaning or impression
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(often foll by with) to provide what is expected
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Also, come upon ; run across . Meet or find by chance, as in I came across your old letters today , or He came upon her looking in the store window . or If I run across it, I'll call you . The first term dates from the 1800s. The first variant was used by Oliver Goldsmith in She Stoops to Conquer (1773): “You are to go sideways till you come upon Crack-Skull Common.” The second variant was used by Mark Twain in Tramp Abroad (1880): “If I don't run across you in Italy, you hunt me up in London.”
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Also, come across with . Pay or give what is expected or demanded, as in He finally came across with some food , or The landlord wants the rent, so come across . [ Colloquial ; late 1800s]
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Make a particular impression, as in He comes across as a very sincere person or Her meaning doesn't really come across; she'll have to revise the speech . [ Colloquial ; first half of 1900s] Also see get across ; put across .
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 people here come across as less friendly to Mr. Barnes, but their governments are models of good governance, with free and fair elections and less corruption than in some countries in Western Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
Vance tends to come across as more of a pathetic striver than an effective bully.
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2026
Rice and Odegaard have come across to show for the ball too.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Your aunt may not have meant to have come across so aggressively.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
We couldn't climb straight down, and we couldn't take the more gradual slope that led down close to the boathouse, because we'd still come across him.
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
