Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - come

(comes, coming, came) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. Note: The form 'come' is used in the present tense and is the past participle. 'Come' is used in a large number of expressions which are explained under other words in this dictionary. For example, the expression ‘to come to terms with something’ is explained at ‘term’. 1. When a person or thing comes to a particular place, especially to a place where you are, they move there. Two police officers came into the hall... Come here, Tom... You’ll have to come with us... We heard the train coming... Can I come too?... The impact blew out some of the windows and the sea came rushing in. VERB: V prep/adv, V prep/adv, V prep/adv, V, V, V -ing prep/adv 2. When someone comes to do something, they move to the place where someone else is in order to do it, and they do it. In British English, someone can also come and do something and in American English, someone can come do something. However, you always say that someone came and did something. Eleanor had come to visit her... Come and meet Roger... I want you to come visit me. VERB: V to-inf, V and v, V inf 3. When you come to a place, you reach it. He came to a door that led into a passageway. VERB: V to n 4. If something comes up to a particular point or down to it, it is tall enough, deep enough, or long enough to reach that point. The water came up to my chest... I wore a large shirt of Jamie’s which came down over my hips. VERB: V up/down prep, V up/down prep 5. If something comes apart or comes to pieces, it breaks into pieces. If something comes off or comes away, it becomes detached from something else. The pistol came to pieces, easily and quickly... The door knobs came off in our hands. VERB: V adv/prep, V adv/prep 6. You use come in expressions such as come to an end or come into operation to indicate that someone or something enters or reaches a particular state or situation. The Communists came to power in 1944... I came into contact with very bright Harvard and Yale students... Their worst fears may be coming true. V-LINK: V to n, V into n, V adj 7. If someone comes to do something, they do it at the end of a long process or period of time. She said it so many times that she came to believe it... VERB: V to-inf 8. You can ask how something came to happen when you want to know what caused it to happen or made it possible. How did you come to meet him? VERB: V to-inf 9. When a particular event or time comes, it arrives or happens. The announcement came after a meeting at the Home Office... The time has come for us to move on... There will come a time when the crisis will occur. VERB: V prep/adv, V, there V n • coming Most of my patients welcome the coming of summer. N-SING: usu the N of n 10. You can use come before a date, time, or event to mean when that date, time, or event arrives. For example, you can say come the spring to mean ‘when the spring arrives’. Come the election on the 20th of May, we will have to decide... PREP 11. If a thought, idea, or memory comes to you, you suddenly think of it or remember it. He was about to shut the door when an idea came to him... Then it came to me that perhaps he did understand. = occur VERB: V to n, it V to n that 12. If money or property is going to come to you, you are going to inherit or receive it. He did have pension money coming to him when the factory shut down. VERB: V to n 13. If a case comes before a court or tribunal or comes to court, it is presented there so that the court or tribunal can examine it. The membership application came before the Council of Ministers in September... President Cristiani expected the case to come to court within ninety days. VERB: V before n, V to n 14. If something comes to a particular number or amount, it adds up to it. Lunch came to $80. VERB: V to amount 15. If someone or something comes from a particular place or thing, that place or thing is their origin, source, or starting point. Nearly half the students come from abroad... Chocolate comes from the cacao tree... The term ‘claret’, used to describe Bordeaux wines, may come from the French word ‘clairet’. VERB: V from n, V from n, V from n 16. Something that comes from something else or comes of it is the result of it. There is a feeling of power that comes from driving fast... He asked to be transferred there some years ago, but nothing came of it. VERB: V from n/-ing, V of n/-ing 17. If someone or something comes first, next, or last, they are first, next, or last in a series, list, or competition. The two countries have been unable to agree which step should come next... The horse had already won at Lincolnshire and come second at Lowesby. VERB: V ord, V ord 18. If a type of thing comes in a particular range of colours, forms, styles, or sizes, it can have any of those colours, forms, styles, or sizes. Bikes come in all shapes and sizes... The wallpaper comes in black and white only. VERB: V in n, V in n 19. You use come in expressions such as it came as a surprise when indicating a person’s reaction to something that happens. Major’s reply came as a complete surprise to the House of Commons... The arrest has come as a terrible shock. VERB: V as n to n, V as n 20. The next subject in a discussion that you come to is the one that you talk about next. Finally in the programme, we come to the news that the American composer and conductor, Leonard Bernstein, has died... That is another matter altogether. And we shall come to that next. VERB: V to n, V to n 21. To come means to have an orgasm. (INFORMAL) VERB: V 22. see also coming, comings and goings 23. If you say that someone is, for example, as good as they come, or as stupid as they come, you are emphasizing that they are extremely good or extremely stupid. The new finance minister was educated at Oxford and is as traditional as they come. PHRASE c darkgreen]emphasis 24. You can use the expression when it comes down to it or when you come down to it for emphasis, when you are giving a general statement or conclusion. When you come down to it, however, the basic problems of life have not changed... PHRASE: PHR with cl c darkgreen]emphasis 25. If you say that someone has it coming to them, you mean that they deserve everything bad that is going to happen to them, because they have done something wrong or are a bad person. If you say that someone got what was coming to them, you mean that they deserved the punishment or bad experience that they have had. (INFORMAL) He was pleased that Brady was dead because he probably had it coming to him. PHRASE: V inflects 26. You use the expression come to think of it to indicate that you have suddenly realized something, often something obvious. You know, when you come to think of it, this is very odd. PHRASE: PHR with cl 27. When you refer to a time or an event to come or one that is still to come, you are referring to a future time or event. I hope in years to come he will reflect on his decision... The worst of the storm is yet to come. PHRASE: usu n PHR, also v-link PHR 28. You can use the expression when it comes to or when it comes down to in order to introduce a new topic or a new aspect of a topic that you are talking about. Most of us know we should cut down on fat. But knowing such things isn’t much help when it comes to shopping and eating... However, when it comes down to somebody that they know, they have a different feeling. PHRASE: PHR n/-ing 29. You can use expressions like I know where you’re coming from or you can see where she’s coming from to say that you understand someone’s attitude or point of view. To understand why they are doing it, it is necessary to know where they are coming from... PHRASE: V inflects