Meaning & use
come up with
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Meanings
verbphrasal verb
to think of an idea, plan, solution, or name
Grammar: Takes an object after the whole phrase: come up with a plan. The object cannot go between the words.
Patterns
- come up with something
- come up with an idea
- come up with a plan
She came up with a clever name for the new product.
We need to come up with a solution before Friday.
He came up with the idea while walking his dog.
verbphrasal verb
to produce or find something when it is needed
Grammar: Used with an object, often about money, evidence, or a required amount.
Patterns
- come up with something
- come up with the money
Can you come up with the rent by Monday?
The team came up with the evidence just in time.
Common combinations
- come up with an idea
- She came up with an idea for a new app.
- come up with a solution
- Engineers came up with a solution to the traffic problem.
- come up with a plan
- We need to come up with a plan for the weekend.
- come up with a name
- They came up with a name for the baby.
Synonyms and how they differ
- think of
- Similar but more general; think of can mean simply remember, while come up with stresses creating something new.
- invent
- Stronger and more formal; invent suggests creating something completely new, not just finding an answer.
- devise
- Formal and used mostly for plans or systems; come up with is more everyday and flexible.
Commonly confused: come up with or come up?
come up with vs come up
Come up means to happen or appear, not to think of something. If you say 'an idea came up', it appeared by itself; if you 'come up with an idea', you created it.
Practice
We need to ______ a better plan for the project.
Choose one answer.
'Come up with' is the phrasal verb meaning to think of or produce a plan. 'Come up' alone means to happen or appear, and 'come up to' means to reach a level, so neither fits the idea of creating a plan.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “come up with”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.