7 VERB If someone comes to do something, they do it at the end of a long process or period of time. □ [V to-inf] She said it so many times that she came to believe it.
8 VERB You can ask how something came to happen when you want to know what caused it to happen or made it possible. □ [V to-inf] How did you come to meet him?
9 VERB When a particular event or time comes , it arrives or happens. □ [V prep/adv] The announcement came after a meeting at the Home Office. □ [V ] The time has come for us to move on. □ [V ] There will come a time when the crisis will occur. ● com|ing N‑SING □ [+ of ] Most of my patients welcome the coming of summer.
10 PREP 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.
11 VERB If a thought, idea, or memory comes to you, you suddenly think of it or remember it. □ [V + to ] He was about to shut the door when an idea came to him. □ [V to n that] Then it came to me that perhaps he did understand.
12 VERB If money or property is going to come to you, you are going to inherit or receive it. □ [V + to ] He did have pension money coming to him when the factory shut down.
13 VERB 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. □ [V + before ] They were ready to explain their case when it came before the planning committee. □ [V + to ] President Cristiani expected the case to come to court within ninety days.
14 VERB If something comes to a particular number or amount, it adds up to it. □ [V + to ] Lunch came to $80.
15 VERB If someone or something comes from a particular place or thing, that place or thing is their origin, source, or starting point. □ [V + from ] Nearly half the students come from abroad. □ [V + from ] Chocolate comes from the cacao tree. □ [V + from ] The term 'claret', used to describe Bordeaux wines, may come from the French word 'clairet'.
16 VERB Something that comes from something else or comes of it is the result of it. □ [V + from ] There is a feeling of power that comes from driving fast. □ [V + of ] He asked to be transferred there some years ago, but nothing came of it.
17 VERB If someone or something comes first, next, or last, they are first, next, or last in a series, list, or competition. □ [V ] The two countries have been unable to agree which step should come next. □ [V ord] The horse had already won at Lincolnshire and come second at Lowesby.
18 VERB 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. □ [V + in ] Bikes come in all shapes and sizes. □ [V + in ] The wallpaper comes in black and white only.
19 VERB You use come in expressions such as it came as a surprise when indicating a person's reaction to something that happens. □ [V + as ] Major's reply came as a complete surprise to the House of Commons. □ [V + as ] The arrest has come as a terrible shock.
20 VERB The next subject in a discussion that you come to is the one that you talk about next. □ [V + to ] Finally in the programme, we come to the news that the American composer and conductor, Leonard Bernstein, has died. □ [V + to ] That is another matter altogether. And we shall come to that next.
21 VERB To come means to have an orgasm. [INFORMAL ]
22 → see also coming , comings and goings
23 PHRASE 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. [EMPHASIS ] □ The new finance minister was educated at Oxford and is as traditional as they come.
24 PHRASE 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. [EMPHASIS ] □ When you come down to it, however, the basic problems of life have not changed.
25 PHRASE 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.
26 PHRASE 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.
27 PHRASE 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.
28 PHRASE 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. □ We know we should cut down on fat but that doesn't help when it comes to eating. □ However, when it comes down to somebody that they know, they have a different feeling.