come

v. i. [ imp. Came p. p. Come p. pr & vb. n. Coming. ] [ OE. cumen, comen, AS. cuman; akin to OS.kuman, D. komen, OHG. queman, G. kommen, Icel. koma, Sw. komma, Dan. komme, Goth. giman, L. venire (gvenire), Gr. &unr_; to go, Skr. gam. √23. Cf. Base, n., Convene, Adventure. ] 1. To move hitherward; to draw near; to approach the speaker, or some place or person indicated; -- opposed to go. [ 1913 Webster ]

Look, who comes yonder? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

I did not come to curse thee. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To complete a movement toward a place; to arrive. [ 1913 Webster ]

When we came to Rome. Acts xxviii. 16. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lately come from Italy. Acts xviii. 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To approach or arrive, as if by a journey or from a distance. “Thy kingdom come.” Matt. vi. 10. [ 1913 Webster ]

The hour is coming, and now is. John. v. 25. [ 1913 Webster ]

So quick bright things come to confusion. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To approach or arrive, as the result of a cause, or of the act of another. [ 1913 Webster ]

From whence come wars? James iv. 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

Both riches and honor come of thee ! 1 Chron. xxix. 12. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To arrive in sight; to be manifest; to appear. [ 1913 Webster ]

Then butter does refuse to come. Hudibras. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To get to be, as the result of change or progress; -- with a predicate; as, to come untied. [ 1913 Webster ]

How come you thus estranged? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

How come her eyes so bright? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Am come, is come, etc., are frequently used instead of have come, has come, etc., esp. in poetry. The verb to be gives a clearer adjectival significance to the participle as expressing a state or condition of the subject, while the auxiliary have expresses simply the completion of the action signified by the verb. [ 1913 Webster ]

Think not that I am come to destroy. Matt. v. 17. [ 1913 Webster ]

We are come off like Romans. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the year. Bryant. [ 1913 Webster ]

Come may properly be used (instead of go) in speaking of a movement hence, or away, when there is reference to an approach to the person addressed; as, I shall come home next week; he will come to your house to-day. It is used with other verbs almost as an auxiliary, indicative of approach to the action or state expressed by the verb; as, how came you to do it? Come is used colloquially, with reference to a definite future time approaching, without an auxiliary; as, it will be two years, come next Christmas; i. e., when Christmas shall come. [ 1913 Webster ] They were cried
In meeting, come next Sunday. Lowell. Come, in the imperative, is used to excite attention, or to invite to motion or joint action; come, let us go. “This is the heir; come, let us kill him.” Matt. xxi. 38. When repeated, it sometimes expresses haste, or impatience, and sometimes rebuke. “Come, come, no time for lamentation now.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

To come, yet to arrive, future. “In times to come.” Dryden. “There's pippins and cheese to come.” Shak. --
To come about. (a) To come to pass; to arrive; to happen; to result; as, how did these things come about? (b) To change; to come round; as, the ship comes about. “The wind is come about.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ] On better thoughts, and my urged reasons,
They are come about, and won to the true side. B. Jonson. --
To come abroad. (a) To move or be away from one's home or country. “Am come abroad to see the world.” Shak. (b) To become public or known. [ Obs. ] “Neither was anything kept secret, but that it should come abroad.” Mark. iv. 22. --
To come across, to meet; to find, esp. by chance or suddenly. “We come across more than one incidental mention of those wars.” E. A. Freeman. “Wagner's was certainly one of the strongest and most independent natures I ever came across.” H. R. Haweis. --
To come after. (a) To follow. (b) To come to take or to obtain; as, to come after a book. --
To come again, to return. “His spirit came again and he revived.” Judges. xv. 19. - -
To come and go. (a) To appear and disappear; to change; to alternate. “The color of the king doth come and go.” Shak. (b) (Mech.) To play backward and forward. --
To come at. (a) To reach; to arrive within reach of; to gain; as, to come at a true knowledge of ourselves. (b) To come toward; to attack; as, he came at me with fury. --
To come away, to part or depart. --
To come between, to intervene; to separate; hence, to cause estrangement. --
To come by. (a) To obtain, gain, acquire. “Examine how you came by all your state.” Dryden. (b) To pass near or by way of. --
To come down. (a) To descend. (b) To be humbled. --
To come down upon, to call to account, to reprimand. [ Colloq. ] Dickens. --
To come home. (a) To return to one's house or family. (b) To come close; to press closely; to touch the feelings, interest, or reason. (c) (Naut.) To be loosened from the ground; -- said of an anchor. --
To come in. (a) To enter, as a town, house, etc. “The thief cometh in.” Hos. vii. 1. (b) To arrive; as, when my ship comes in. (c) To assume official station or duties; as, when Lincoln came in. (d) To comply; to yield; to surrender. “We need not fear his coming in” Massinger. (e) To be brought into use. “Silken garments did not come in till late.” Arbuthnot. (f) To be added or inserted; to be or become a part of. (g) To accrue as gain from any business or investment. (h) To mature and yield a harvest; as, the crops come in well. (i) To have sexual intercourse; -- with to or unto. Gen. xxxviii. 16. (j) To have young; to bring forth; as, the cow will come in next May. [ U. S. ] --
To come in for, to claim or receive. “The rest came in for subsidies.” Swift. --
To come into, to join with; to take part in; to agree to; to comply with; as, to come into a party or scheme. --
To come it over, to hoodwink; to get the advantage of. [ Colloq. ] --
To come near or
To come nigh, to approach in place or quality; to be equal to. “Nothing ancient or modern seems to come near it.” Sir W. Temple. --
To come of. (a) To descend or spring from. “Of Priam's royal race my mother came.” Dryden. (b) To result or follow from. “This comes of judging by the eye.” L'Estrange. --
To come off. (a) To depart or pass off from. (b) To get free; to get away; to escape. (c) To be carried through; to pass off; as, it came off well. (d) To acquit one's self; to issue from (a contest, etc.); as, he came off with honor; hence, substantively, a come-off, an escape; an excuse; an evasion. [ Colloq. ] (e) To pay over; to give. [ Obs. ] (f) To take place; to happen; as, when does the race come off? (g) To be or become after some delay; as, the weather came off very fine. (h) To slip off or be taken off, as a garment; to separate. (i) To hurry away; to get through. Chaucer. --
To come off by, to suffer. [ Obs. ] “To come off by the worst.” Calamy. --
To come off from, to leave. “To come off from these grave disquisitions.” Felton. --
To come on. (a) To advance; to make progress; to thrive. (b) To move forward; to approach; to supervene. --
To come out. (a) To pass out or depart, as from a country, room, company, etc. “They shall come out with great substance.” Gen. xv. 14. (b) To become public; to appear; to be published. “It is indeed come out at last.” Bp. Stillingfleet. (c) To end; to result; to turn out; as, how will this affair come out? he has come out well at last. (d) To be introduced into society; as, she came out two seasons ago. (e) To appear; to show itself; as, the sun came out. (f) To take sides; to announce a position publicly; as, he came out against the tariff. (g) To publicly admit oneself to be homosexual. --
To come out with, to give publicity to; to disclose. --
To come over. (a) To pass from one side or place to another. “Perpetually teasing their friends to come over to them.” Addison. (b) To rise and pass over, in distillation. --
To come over to, to join. --
To come round. (a) To recur in regular course. (b) To recover. [ Colloq. ] (c) To change, as the wind. (d) To relent. J. H. Newman. (e) To circumvent; to wheedle. [ Colloq. ] --
To come short, to be deficient; to fail of attaining. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Rom. iii. 23. --
To come to. (a) To consent or yield. Swift. (b) (Naut.) (with the accent on to) To luff; to bring the ship's head nearer the wind; to anchor. (c) (with the accent on to) To recover, as from a swoon. (d) To arrive at; to reach. (e) To amount to; as, the taxes come to a large sum. (f) To fall to; to be received by, as an inheritance. Shak. --
To come to blows. See under Blow. --
To come to grief. See under Grief. --
To come to a head. (a) To suppurate, as a boil. (b) To mature; to culminate; as a plot. --
To come to one's self, to recover one's senses. --
To come to pass, to happen; to fall out. --
To come to the scratch. (a) (Prize Fighting) To step up to the scratch or mark made in the ring to be toed by the combatants in beginning a contest; hence: (b) To meet an antagonist or a difficulty bravely. [ Colloq. ] --
To come to time. (a) (Prize Fighting) To come forward in order to resume the contest when the interval allowed for rest is over and “time” is called; hence: (b) To keep an appointment; to meet expectations. [ Colloq. ] --
To come together. (a) To meet for business, worship, etc.; to assemble. Acts i. 6. (b) To live together as man and wife. Matt. i. 18. --
To come true, to happen as predicted or expected. --
To come under, to belong to, as an individual to a class. --
To come up (a) to ascend; to rise. (b) To be brought up; to arise, as a question. (c) To spring; to shoot or rise above the earth, as a plant. (d) To come into use, as a fashion. --
To come up the capstan (Naut.), to turn it the contrary way, so as to slacken the rope about it. --
To come up the tackle fall (Naut.), to slacken the tackle gently. Totten. --
To come up to, to rise to; to equal. --
To come up with, to overtake or reach by pursuit. --
To come upon. (a) To befall. (b) To attack or invade. (c) To have a claim upon; to become dependent upon for support; as, to come upon the town. (d) To light or chance upon; to find; as, to come upon hid treasure. [ 1913 Webster ]