# come /ˈkəm/ (US) · /kˈʌm/ (UK) Source: https://englishreference.com/word/come Updated: 2026-06-19 ## Senses ### 1. to move toward verb · CEFR A1 to move toward the person speaking or toward a specific place. For teachers: to move toward the speaker or a deictic centre of perspective. - Please come here for a moment so I can show you this photo. - The children came running toward the gate as soon as they heard their father's car in the driveway. Usage: Intransitive; often followed by 'to' and a destination. ### 2. to arrive verb · CEFR A1 to reach a place or a goal. For teachers: to arrive at a destination or reach a particular point in time or space. - The train should come at ten o'clock if there are no delays. - Winter had come early that year, dusting the peaks with snow before the harvest was even finished. ### 3. to originate verb · CEFR A2 to have a particular place or family as an origin. For teachers: to have a specified origin, such as a place, family, or source. - Many of the students in this class come from different countries. - The tradition comes from a time when rural communities relied on seasonal festivals to mark the passage of the year. Usage: Usually followed by the preposition 'from'. ### 4. to be available verb · CEFR B1 to be sold or made in a specific way, like a certain color or size. For teachers: to be manufactured, supplied, or made available in a specific form or variety. - This shirt comes in three different colors: red, blue, and green. - The new software package comes with a comprehensive manual and twenty-four-hour technical support for all registered users. Usage: Often followed by 'in' or 'with'. ### 5. to happen verb · CEFR B2 to take place or happen. For teachers: to occur or happen, often as a result of something else. - How did it come that you decided to move to London? - It came to pass that the two rival families finally settled their differences through a strategic marriage. Usage: Common in the phrase 'come to pass'. ### 6. to reach a state verb · CEFR B1 to reach a certain condition or feeling over time. For teachers: to reach a particular state, condition, or realization through a process. - I have come to realize that learning a language takes a lot of patience. - After months of negotiation, the two parties have finally come to an agreement regarding the contract terms. Usage: Often followed by an infinitive, like 'to realize' or 'to understand'. ### 7. sexual climax verb · CEFR C1 · Slang · Vulgar to reach a sexual climax. For teachers: to achieve orgasm or ejaculate. - The movie was rated R because the characters were shown coming. - The explicit nature of the dialogue, including references to coming, made the play controversial among more conservative audiences. Usage: Intransitive; often spelled 'cum' in this specific sense. ### 8. by the time of preposition · CEFR C1 · Formal · Literary used to talk about a time in the future when something will happen. For teachers: used to indicate a point in time at or after which a stated event occurs. - Come next summer, we will have lived here for ten years. - Come the revolution, the old structures of power will be swept away by the will of the people. Usage: Placed before the time or event it refers to. ### 9. semen noun · CEFR C2 · Slang · Vulgar the liquid that comes out of a man's body during sex. For teachers: semen or female ejaculatory discharge. - He wiped the come off his stomach with a towel. - The presence of come on the sheets was used as evidence in the forensic investigation. Usage: Uncountable; frequently spelled 'cum'. ## Examples - Please come here and look at this photo. - The train should come at any minute, so we need to stand on the platform. - While many guests arrived early, the guest of honour did not come until the dinner was nearly finished, causing a slight delay in the evening's schedule. --- From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.