View synonyms for

come by

verb

(intr, preposition) to find or obtain (a thing), esp accidentally
do you ever come by any old books?

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Idioms and Phrases

Acquire, obtain, as in A good assistant is hard to come by . This usage, dating from about 1600, superseded the earlier sense of acquiring something with considerable effort. A variant is come by honestly , meaning “to obtain in some honorable or logical way.” For example, I'm sure she didn't come by that large bonus honestly or He does have an unusual gait but he came by it honestly; his father's is the same .

Stop in, visit, as in Please come by whenever you're in the neighborhood . [Late 1800s]

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Overall, fewer children should mean places are easier to come by - but that will vary depending on where you live.

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Sometimes they’d come by in the middle of a snowstorm, plastic bags looped over each arm like ornaments, and you’d feel a little flutter of guilt and gratitude as you tipped in crumpled bills.

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If Hull KR are to undo Wigan's domestic dominance it is likely to come by grinding out wins and putting the work in again from early next week as the season continues.

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In the early 1950s, plumber and construction foreman Steve Henson was working in the Alaskan bush, where perishables like fresh herbs and garlic were hard to come by.

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She’s only working three days a week at the moment and said additional jobs are hard to come by given her status and the immigration crackdown.

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Related Words

come over��
drop by��
drop in��

come between come clean

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