come about
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb (intransitive):
- To happen or occur: To take place, to come to pass, often referring to events or situations that develop or transpire.
- To arise or result: To come into being, often as a consequence or effect of something.
Usage and Examples
- Verb:
- How did this situation come about? (What series of events caused this situation to happen?)
- A significant change in policy came about after the election. (A major policy change occurred as a result of the election.)
- We need to understand how the accident came about. (We need to understand the sequence of events that led to the accident happening.)
Advanced Usage
- "come about" as a process: Often used to describe events that happen gradually or as the result of a process, not instantaneously.
- The cultural shift came about over several decades. (The change in culture happened gradually over many years.)
- In nautical terminology: To change direction (of a ship). (Note: This is a distinct, specialized meaning.)
- The ship came about and headed into the wind. (The ship changed its course to face the wind.)
Variants and Related Words
- Come to pass (verb phrase): A more formal synonym meaning to happen or occur.
- It came to pass just as the prophecy foretold. (It happened exactly as predicted.)
- Come into being (verb phrase): To begin to exist.
- The new organization came into being last year. (The organization was founded/created last year.)
Synonyms
- Happen: To take place or occur.
- Occur: To happen or come to pass.
- Transpire: To happen or occur (often used in formal contexts).
- Take place: To happen, to be held.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Come across: To find or encounter something by chance.
- I came across an old photo while cleaning. (I found an old photo unexpectedly.)
- Come by: To obtain or acquire; to visit.
- How did you come by this information? (How did you obtain this information?)
- Come up: To arise or be mentioned.
- An important issue came up during the meeting. (An important issue was raised during the meeting.)
Related Idioms
- Come to light: To be revealed or discovered.
- New evidence came to light during the investigation. (New evidence was discovered.)
- Come full circle: To return to the original position or situation after a series of events.
- After years of travel, his career came full circle and he returned to his hometown. (His career ended where it began.)
Verb
- come to pass
- What is happening?
- The meeting took place off without an incidence
- Nothing occurred that seemed important