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come across

 
Idioms: come across


1.  Also, come upon; run across. Meet or find by chance, as in I came across your old letters today, or He came upon her looking in the store window. or If I run across it, I'll call you. The first term dates from the 1800s. The first variant was used by Oliver Goldsmith in She Stoops to Conquer (1773): "You are to go sideways till you come upon Crack-Skull Common." The second variant was used by Mark Twain in Tramp Abroad (1880): "If I don't run across you in Italy, you hunt me up in London."
2.  Also, come across with. Pay or give what is expected or demanded, as in He finally came across with some food, or The landlord wants the rent, so come across. [Colloquial; late 1800s]
3.  Make a particular impression, as in He comes across as a very sincere person or Her meaning doesn't really come across; she'll have to revise the speech. [Colloquial; first half of 1900s] Also see get across; put across.


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WordNet: come across
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The verb has 5 meanings:

Meaning #1: find unexpectedly
  Synonyms: fall upon, strike, come upon, light upon, chance upon, chance on, happen upon, attain, discover

Meaning #2: be perceived in a certain way; make a certain impression

Meaning #3: come together
  Synonyms: meet, ran into, encounter, run across, see

Meaning #4: communicate the intended meaning or impression
  Synonym: come over

Meaning #5: be received or understood
  Synonym: resonate


 
 

 

Copyrights:

Idioms. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more