If someone comes up or comes upto you, they approach you until they are standing close to you.
Her cat came up and rubbed itself against their legs. [VERBPARTICLE]
He came up to me and said: 'Come on, John.' [VERBPARTICLE + to]
2. phrasal verb
If something comes up in a conversation or meeting, it is mentioned or discussed.
The subject came up at a news conference in Beijing today. [VERBPARTICLE]
3. phrasal verb
If something is coming up, it is about to happen or take place.
Plan your activities so that you are rested and refreshed when something importantis coming up. [VERBPARTICLE]
We do have elections coming up. [VERBPARTICLE]
4. phrasal verb
If something comes up, it happens unexpectedly.
I was delayed–something came up at home. [VERBPARTICLE]
Other projects came up and the emphasis of my work altered. [VERBPARTICLE]
5. phrasal verb
If a job comes up or if something comes upfor sale, it becomes available.
A research fellowship came up at Girton and I applied for it and got it. [VERBPARTICLE]
The house came up for sale and the couple realised they could just about afford it. [VERBPARTICLE + for]
6. phrasal verb
When the sun or moon comes up, it rises.
It will be so great watching the sun come up. [VERBPARTICLE]
7. phrasal verb
In law, when a case comes up, it is heard in a court of law.
He is one of the reservists who will plead not guilty when their cases come up. [VERBPARTICLE]
See full dictionary entry for come
come up in British English
verb(intr, adverb)
1.
to come to a place regarded as higher
2.
(of the sun) to rise
3.
to begin
a wind came up
4.
to be regurgitated or vomited
5.
to present itself or be discussed
that question will come up again
6. British
to begin a term, esp one's first term, at a college or university
7.
to appear from out of the ground
my beans have come up early this year
8. informal
to win
has your lottery ticket ever come up?
9. come up against
10. come up to
11. come up with
come up in American English
1.
to arise; begin
a light breeze came up
2.
to be mentioned, as in a discussion
3.
to rise or improve, as in status
4.
to be put forward, as for a vote
5. British
to enter a university
See full dictionary entry for come
Examples of 'come up' in a sentence
come up
We want to ask if everything can be played down, if and when the questions come up in Parliament.
Jon Cleary YESTERDAY'S SHADOW (2002)
In other languages
come up
British English: come up /kʌm ʌp/ VERB
If someone comes up to you, they walk over to you.
Her cat came up and rubbed itself against their legs.
American English: come up
Arabic: يَقْتَرِبُ
Brazilian Portuguese: surgir
Chinese: 走近
Croatian: prići
Czech: přistoupit k někomu
Danish: komme hen
Dutch: naar toelopen omhoog komen
European Spanish: acercarse venir
Finnish: tulla luokse
French: monter
German: aufkommen
Greek: πλησιάζω
Italian: spuntare fuori
Japanese: 上がる
Korean: 다가가다
Norwegian: komme opp
Polish: podejść
European Portuguese: surgir
Romanian: a veni
Russian: подходить
Latin American Spanish: subir
Swedish: komma upp
Thai: เข้าไปใกล้
Turkish: gündeme gelmek
Ukrainian: підходити
Vietnamese: tiến lại
All related terms of 'come up'
come up to
To be coming up to a time or state means to be getting near to it.
come up for
When someone or something comes up for consideration or action of some kind , the time arrives when they have to be considered or dealt with.
come up with
If you come up with a plan or idea, you think of it and suggest it.
come up roses
If you say that everything is coming up roses for someone, you mean that everything is going well for them.
come up trumps
to achieve an unexpectedly good result
come up against
If you come up against a problem or difficulty , you are faced with it and have to deal with it.
come up smiling
to recover cheerfully from misfortune
to come up trumps
If you say that someone came up trumps , you mean that they did something successfully, often when they were not expected to.
come up in the world
to have more money than you had before and now have a higher social status
come up smelling of roses
to be in a better or stronger situation than before, after experiencing a difficult situation
come up against a brick wall
to arrive at a situation in which something is stopping you from doing what you want and preventing you from making any progress
go/come up/down in the world
If you say that someone has gone up in the world , you mean they have become richer or have a higher social status than before. If you say they have come down in the world , you mean they have become poorer or have a lower social status.
hit/come up against a brick wall
If you hit a brick wall or come up against a brick wall , you are unable to continue or make progress because something stops you.
come up with the goods to deliver the goods
If you deliver the goods or come up with the goods , you do what is expected or required of you.
something or someone is not up to scratch
said to mean that something or someone is not as good as they ought to be