What does "come" mean?
Coming, arrival; approach.
Come
/kʌm/ intj, noun, prep, verb, slang
intj, noun, prep, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Coming, arrival; approach.
- Grammar: come is listed as intj, noun, prep, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: arrive, derive, occur, accomplish.
- Useful contrasts: away, off, back off.
- Usage evidence: I'll call them tomorrow when I come back.
How to use "come"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "come" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "come" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "come" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "come" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "come" is acting as intj, noun, prep, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "arrive" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "come", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Coming, arrival; approach. obsolete, uncountable
"“If we count three before the come of thee, thwacked thou art, and must go to the women.”"
- 2 Alternative form of comma in its medieval use as a middot ⟨·⟩ serving as a form of colon. alt-of, alternative, obsolete
"There be five manner of points and divisions most used among cunning men; the which if they be well used, make the sentence very light and easy to be understood, both to the reader and hearer: and they be these, virgil,—come,—parenthesis,—plain point,—interrogative."
- 3 the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract wordnet
- 4 Semen slang, uncountable, vulgar
"When a man uses a condom during sex, he takes all of his come with him, preventing her from getting pregnant."
- 5 Female ejaculatory discharge. slang, uncountable, vulgar
Verb
- 1 To move nearer to the point of perspective. intransitive
"She’ll be coming round the mountain when she comes the wrong way […]"
- 2 come to pass; arrive, as in due course wordnet
- 3 To move nearer to the point of perspective.; To move toward the speaker. intransitive
"I called the dog, but she wouldn't come."
- 4 be found or available wordnet
- 5 To move nearer to the point of perspective.; To move toward the listener. intransitive
"Hold on, I'll come in a second."
Show 41 more definitions
- 6 happen as a result wordnet
- 7 To move nearer to the point of perspective.; To move toward the object that is the focus of the sentence. intransitive
"No-one can find Bertie Wooster when his aunts come to visit."
- 8 reach or enter a state, relation, condition, use, or position wordnet
- 9 To move nearer to the point of perspective.; To move toward the agent or subject of the main clause. intransitive
"King Cnut couldn't stop the tide coming."
- 10 have a certain priority wordnet
- 11 To move nearer to the point of perspective.; To move toward an unstated agent. intransitive
"The butler should come when called."
- 12 come to one's mind; suggest itself wordnet
- 13 To arrive. intransitive
"Late at night comes Mr. Hudson, the cooper, my neighbour, and tells me that he come from Chatham this evening at five o'clock, and saw this afternoon "The Royal James," "Oake," and "London," burnt by the enemy with their fire-ships: […]"
- 14 cover a certain distance wordnet
- 15 To appear; to manifest itself; to cause a reaction by manifesting. intransitive
"The pain in his leg comes and goes."
- 16 move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody wordnet
- 17 To begin (to have an opinion or feeling).
"We came to believe that he was not so innocent after all."
- 18 reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress wordnet
- 19 To do something by chance or unintentionally.
"Could you tell me how the document came to be discovered?"
- 20 be received wordnet
- 21 To take a position relative to something else in a sequence. intransitive
"Which letter comes before Y? Winter comes after autumn."
- 22 experience orgasm wordnet
- 23 To achieve orgasm; to cum; to ejaculate. intransitive, often, slang, vulgar
"She came after a few minutes."
- 24 proceed or get along wordnet
- 25 To become butter by being churned. intransitive
"when butter does refuse to come"
- 26 to be the product or result wordnet
- 27 To approach or reach a state of being or accomplishment. copulative, figuratively
"They came very close to leaving on time. His test scores came close to perfect."
- 28 to measure up to in kind or quality wordnet
- 29 To take a particular approach or point of view in regard to something. figuratively
"He came to SF literature a confirmed technophile, and nothing made him happier than to read a manuscript thick with imaginary gizmos and whatzits."
- 30 add up in number or quantity wordnet
- 31 To become, to turn out to be (often in set phrases and certain collocations). archaic, copulative
"Near-synonyms: become, get, go, turn, fall, grow, wax"
- 32 extend or reach wordnet
- 33 To be supplied, or made available; to exist. intransitive
"He's as tough as they come."
- 34 come under, be classified or included wordnet
- 35 To carry through; to succeed in. slang
"You can't come any tricks here."
- 36 come from; be connected by a relationship of blood, for example wordnet
- 37 To happen. intransitive
"This kind of accident comes when you are careless."
- 38 be a native of wordnet
- 39 To have as an origin, originate.; To have a certain social background. intransitive
"While Kate Roberts came from a poor background and, later in life, in the post-Second World War period suffered from severe money shortages, in the early 1930s, she and her husband must have counted themselves relatively well off, particularly in comparison with their neighbours in Tonypandy."
- 40 exist or occur in a certain point in a series wordnet
- 41 To have as an origin, originate.; To be or have been a resident or native. intransitive
"Where did you come from?"
- 42 come forth wordnet
- 43 To have as an origin, originate.; To have been brought up by or employed by. intransitive
"She comes from a good family."
- 44 To have as an origin, originate.; To begin (at a certain location); to radiate or stem (from). intransitive
"The river comes from Bear Lake."
- 45 To germinate. intransitive
- 46 To pretend to be; to behave in the manner of; to assume the role of. informal, transitive
"Don’t come the innocent victim. We all know who’s to blame here."
Preposition
- 1 Used to indicate a point in time at or after which a stated event or situation occurs.
"Leave it to settle for about three months and, come Christmas time, you'll have a delicious concoction to offer your guests."
Intj
- 1 An exclamation to express annoyance. dated, formal
"Come come! Stop crying."
- 2 An exclamation to express encouragement, or to precede a request. dated, formal
"Come come! You can do it."
Example
"I'll call them tomorrow when I come back."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "come"?
Common synonyms include: arrive, derive, occur, accomplish, accost, achieve.
How do you use "come" in a sentence?
I'll call them tomorrow when I come back.
How do you pronounce "come"?
Pronounced /kʌm/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English comen, cumen, from Old English cuman, from Proto-West Germanic *kweman, from Proto-Germanic *kwemaną (“to come”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷémt (“to step; to arrive”), from *gʷem- (“to come, step”). Cognates Cognate from Proto-Germanic with Scots cum (“to come”), Yola come, coome, cum (“to come”), North Frisian kaame, kame, keem, kem, kum, kååme, käme (“to come”), Saterland Frisian kume, kuume (“to come”), West Frisian komme (“to come”), Alemannic German cha, cheemen, cheme, cho, chomu, chéeme (“to come”), Bavarian ckeman, kemma, kemman, khemen, kumma, kumman, kèmmin (“to come”), Central Franconian komme, kunn, kumme (“to come”), Cimbrian ken, khemmen, khèmman (“to come”), Dutch komen, kommen (“to come”), Dutch Low Saxon kåmen (“to come”), German and Luxembourgish kommen (“to come”), Low German kamen, kuemen (“to come”), Mòcheno kemmen (“to come”), Yiddish קימען (kimen), קומען (kumen, “to come”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål komme (“to come”), Elfdalian kumå (“to come”), Faroese and Icelandic koma (“to come; to arrive”), Jamtish kuma (“to come”), Norwegian Nynorsk koma, komma, komme, kåmmå, kåmå (“to come”), Swedish komma (“to come”), Crimean Gothic kommen (“to come”), Gothic 𐌵𐌹𐌼𐌰𐌽 (qiman, “to come”). Cognate from Proto-Indo-European with Latin venio (“to come; to approach”), Greek βήμα (víma, “pace, step”), Albanian ngah, ngaj (“to hasten, run”), Latvian dzimt (“to be born”), Lithuanian gimti (“to be born”), Armenian եկ (ek, “the act of coming, arrival; income”), Avestan 𐬔𐬀𐬨 (gam, “to come, go”), Northern Kurdish gav (“step”), Persian گام (gâm, “step”), Tocharian A kum- (“to come”), Tocharian B käm- (“to come”), Sanskrit गम् (gam, “to come, go, move”).
Etymology 2
See comma.