Come By

B1 8+
Pronunciation Definitions Examples Grammatical Forms Origin and Evolution

Pronunciation: /kʌm baɪ/

Definitions of come by

verb to obtain or acquire something, especially something that is difficult to find or rare

Example Sentences

A1 I come by your house every morning on my way to work.

A2 She comes by her musical talent naturally.

B1 I hope to come by some extra money soon.

B2 He came by his success through hard work and determination.

C1 The rare book was difficult to come by, but I managed to find a copy.

C2 She came by her knowledge of ancient languages through years of study and research.

Examples of come by in a Sentence

formal It is not easy to come by such high-quality products in this market.

informal I heard that you can come by some great deals at the farmer's market.

slang If you're ever in the area, come by my place and hang out.

figurative Opportunities like this don't just come by every day, so make sure to seize it when it does.

Grammatical Forms of come by

past tense

came by

plural

come by

comparative

more come by

superlative

most come by

present tense

come by

future tense

will come by

perfect tense

have come by

continuous tense

coming by

singular

comes by

positive degree

come by

infinitive

to come by

gerund

coming by

participle

come by

Origin and Evolution of come by

First Known Use: 1250 year
Language of Origin: Middle English
Story behind the word: The phrase 'come by' originated in Middle English as a combination of the words 'come' and 'by'.
Evolution of the word: Originally used to mean 'obtain' or 'acquire', the phrase 'come by' has evolved over time to also mean 'find' or 'come across'.