25 Phrasal Verbs with Come Explained in Simple Words

Starting off our list of come phrasal verbs, the meaning behind come after is to chase or pursue someone in an attempt to capture or apprehend them.

Example:

• After a successful robbery, the thugs were concerned that the police might come after them.
• Julie always carries a pocket knife and pepper spray when going on a hike alone in case someone decides to come after her.

Interestingly, this come phrasal verb has two separate meanings. The first one refers to behaving a certain way that produces an impression about your character.
The second one means accidentally finding something or meetings someone without the intention of doing so.

Example:

• Sometimes, my sister can come across as a very mean person, but deep down, she’s not like that.
• I came across a curious article about the occult history of our town when I was doing research for my new book.

When something comes about, it simply means it is happening or has happened.

Example:

• I’m intrigued, how did your passion for playing the violin come about?
• Our first meeting with investors came about after our trip to New England.

Coming along means arriving at a place of destination, especially by means of accompanying someone.

Example:

• We are going to see a new play at the theater, do you want to come along?
• I always come along when my partner invites me to see his concerts.

To come away is a phrasal verb “come” with a flexible meaning. It refers to leaving or departing from a certain place or subject, oftentimes presuming some kind of separation. It can also mean traveling somewhere.

Example:

• I tried to put on my old dress, but when I pulled at the zipper, the dress came away at the seam.
• My family used to come away on nice vacations every summer when I was a kid.

Similar to the previous come phrasal verb, to come apart means to break into small pieces. This expression can also be used figuratively to describe a situation.

Example:

• I tried to build an origami project for my school, but the figure kept coming apart in my hands.
• My relationship with my ex-husband started to come apart long before we were officially separated.

Keeping the trend of discussing phrasal verbs with various meanings behind them, to come around has a few definitions as well. The first one generally means visiting someone at their house.

Another meaning is to change your mind about something. The last one refers to an event that occurs regularly.

Example:

• I’m sure my students are going to come around to the idea of having an open class with parents present.
• In a few weeks, Halloween will be coming around.

You can find more examples of sayings that have multiple meanings, like commonly used phrasal verbs with take.

To come at someone means moving in their direction, physically preparing to attack them. The expression can be used to describe a verbal confrontation as well.

Example:

• My friend tried to come at me after we disagreed on the best way to approach a night out on the town.
• You should know how to defend yourself if some stranger decides to come at you on the street.

When someone or something comes back, it means they returned to their original place. Interestingly, the joint word “comeback” refers to giving a snark or witty reply to someone’s comment.

Example:

• My youngest daughter cried when I was leaving for a business trip, thinking that I won’t come back.
• My husband was shocked to hear that I would come back from my hairdressing appointment in about four hours.

To come by means to get or obtain something through your own effort or by chance. Similarly, this phrasal verb with come can also mean to come by somewhere, which refers to visiting a certain place.

Example:

• I am going to come by the store and get some groceries.
• I wonder how she came by such a luxurious house at such a young age.

You can also discover a similar saying, “get by,” in our guide to phrasal verbs with get.

When a particular problem or situation comes between people, it means it harms their relationship and causes them to disagree.

Example:

• The fact that Mary decided to move to another city to attend college came between her and her parents.
• It was never my intention to cause our different views on marriage to come between us.

If something comes down, it becomes physically or figuratively lower, i.e., descending in level.

Example:

• Over the recent years, the prices for housing and transportation didn’t come down but only increased.
• A thunderstorm came down upon the city last night.

When a situation or a choice comes down to something, it refers to the most influential or fundamental factor.

Example:

• Ultimately, your decision to move in with me comes down to your unwillingness to move out of your parent’s house.
• When thinking of a new business plan, it all comes down to understanding the needs of your customers.

The last similar phrasal verb “come down” is come down with, which means to become ill with an easily treatable sickness.

Example:

• I can’t come to work today, I came down with the flu.
• My son keeps pretending that he has come down with a stomach ache when he doesn’t want to go to school, and I don’t know what to do about it.

It is quite common to see phrasal verbs that have multiple variations with the same adverb but different prepositions, like in many examples of phrasal verbs with put.

To come forth means to step out into view physically or to tell the truth about something figuratively.

Example:

• The MC always comes forth onto the stage when a comedian finishes their performance.
• The defendant came forth about his crimes during the trial.

Coming from somewhere means being born in a particular place, i.e., your place of birth. It can also refer to the cause of the problem or a situation.

Example:

• Even though I live in New York now, I originally come from France.
• The reason why many children now suffer from cavities comes from eating too much sugar.

When someone comes for another person or an object, it means they arrive to collect or escort it. This phrasal verb usually refers to a potentially dangerous situation.

Example:

• My three-year-old son is afraid that the monster is going to come for him at night after he watched a scary movie that he wasn’t allowed to see.
• Being in my teenage years, I used to shoplift quite often and didn’t care if the police would come for me.

One of the fairly simple and easily understood phrasal verbs with come, to come in means to enter a building or a place. In some contexts, it can refer to becoming involved in a situation as well.

Example:

• Hello, mind if I come in to make a quick call?
• Usually, when you come in as a new member of the project, you get an onboarding session.

Similar to come across, the phrasal verb come off means to create a certain impression about your personality due to how you act.

Example:

• Our new office manager comes off as a bit weird.
• You can’t control how you come off to people, so there is no need to bother about their opinion.

The expression “come out” has two somewhat similar meanings. The first one refers to something new becoming publicly available. The second one means secret or hidden information has been revealed.

Example:

• The truth about the taxpayer fraud is going to come out someday and I don’t want to be associated with that.
• The new part of this movie franchise will be coming out next Wednesday, so I’m going to see it at the cinema.

The phrasal verb come over can be used in two ways. The most common definition is to move from one place to another, usually toward someone. The other less frequently used one is to be suddenly influenced by a feeling.

Example:

• I told Jenny that she can come over to our house any time she wanted.
• Something came over me when I watched Titanic for the first time in high school.

When something comes through, like a message or an emotion, it means it was well-communicated and received by other members of the conversation.

Example:

• Did your invitation to our wedding come through in time?
• When me and my wife have a heated conversation, she always makes sure her emotions come through to me.

Come together is used when a group of people, such as friends or family members, meet and gather together for some kind of activity.

Example:

• I love it when my friends come together and prepare a surprise party for my birthday.
• Before the pandemic, my large family used to come together to celebrate each holiday at our house.

When someone comes to, it means they have regained consciousness after surgery or an accident.

Example:

• It took me hours to come to after the doctors had to sedate me during the procedure urgently.
• After I came to, I realized that I was just in a car accident.

The last one of the phrasal verbs with come on our list is come up, which means to arise, whether as a topic in a conversation or walk toward somebody physically.

Example:

• The subject of meeting each other’s parents never comes up in our discussions.
• When I saw my future girlfriend working behind the coffee counter, I had to muster all of the courage within me to come up to her.