Dictionary

come to en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /kʌm ˈtu/ (intransitive)
• /ˈkʌm tu/ (transitive)
• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (idiomatic, intransitive) To recover consciousness after fainting etc.
   • She came to with the aid of smelling salts.
2. (idiomatic, intransitive) To stop a sailing vessel, especially by turning into the wind. See also come about.
   • The flood had made, the wind was nearly calm, and being bound down the river, the only thing for it was to come to and wait for the turn of the tide. 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I:
3. (transitive) To total; to amount to.
   • so how much does that come to?; the bill comes to £10 each
4. (transitive) To reach; to arrive at.
   • I don't know what the world is coming to! Everything seems so crazy these days.
   • Dr. Junaid Nabi, a physician-scientist who conducts research in health care technology at the RAND School in Washington, D.C. and is a senior fellow at the Aspen Institute, says he's come to realize that kindness isn't actually a trickle in the ocean. An act of kindness is more like dropping a stone that creates expanding ripples, he says. 2025 November 13, Kamala Thiagarajan, “If you're going to be kind to another human, today is the day to do it!”, in NPR:
   • come to an end; come to a conclusion; come to an agreement; come to a halt
   • Many sprouting crops never come to ear.
   • Dotcom mania was slow in coming to higher education, but now it has the venerable industry firmly in its grip. Since the launch early last year of Udacity and Coursera, two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. 2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
5. (transitive) To seek help from.
   • You can always come to me when you're feeling sad.
6. (transitive) To devote attention to in due course; to come around to.
   • I'll come to your question in a minute.
7. (transitive) To befall; to happen to; to come upon.
   • My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price. 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter III, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
   • I pray no harm will come to you.
8. (present, regional, transitive) To regard or specifically pertain to.
   • When it comes to remorseless criminals, this guy takes the cake.
   • He's the best when it comes to detective fiction.
9. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see come, to.

Forms

Deriveds

come to grief · come to blows · come to mind · come to someone's aid · come to a sticky end · come to naught · come to hand · come to a close · come to someone's rescue · come to think of it · come to terms · come to Jesus · come to light · come to life · come to oneself · come to grips with · come to the fore · come back to one's senses · come to terms with · come to order · come to nothing · when push comes to shove · come to a boil · come to pass · come to time · come to an end · come to one's senses · come to one's hand · come to a head · come to grips · come to papa · come to that · come to someone's assistance · Daniel come to judgement · when it comes to · come to power · come to nought · worst comes to worst · come to mention it · come to the party

Synonyms

come back to one's senses · come to one's senses · come around · come round · revive · affect · come to oneself

Translations (58)

az hala gəlmək (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · de wieder ansprechbar sein (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · fi olla yhteensä (to total, to amount to) · hu magához tér (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · fr atteindre (to reach, to arrive at) · fr reprendre ses esprits (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · az ayılmaq (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · pl wynieść (to total, to amount to) · de machen (to total, to amount to) · az qalanda (regarding) · uk дорівнювати (to total, to amount to) · fi tulla (regarding) · az özünə gəlmək (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · fi tulla tajuihinsa (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · fi päästä (to reach, to arrive at) · pl dochodzić do siebie (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · sv gällande (regarding) · hu érkezik (to reach, to arrive at) · pl odnosić się do (regarding) · ja 覚醒する (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · ru приходить в сознание (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · uga 𐎎𐎙𐎊 (to reach, to arrive at) · pl wynosić (to total, to amount to) · az huşa gəlmək (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · az gəldikdə (regarding) · de zu Bewusstsein kommen (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · fr monter à (to total, to amount to) · sv beträffande (regarding) · pl dochodzić do (to reach, to arrive at) · ru равня́ться (to total, to amount to) · fa شدن (to total, to amount to) · az gələndə (regarding) · es dónde / adónde vamos / iremos a parar (to reach, to arrive at) · ga sroich (to reach, to arrive at) · ro veni vorba (regarding) · de zu sich kommen (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · pl dojść do (to reach, to arrive at) · uk отямитися (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · fr reprendre connaissance (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · ru составля́ть (to total, to amount to) · grc ἀφικνέομαι (to reach, to arrive at) · fi tulla (to reach, to arrive at) · hu visszanyeri az eszméletét (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · az başa gəlmək (to total, to amount to) · az qaldıqda (regarding) · fr revenir à soi (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · hu jut (to reach, to arrive at) · es volver en sí (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · pl dojść do siebie (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · pl odzyskiwać przytomność (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · es retornar en sí (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · pl opiewać na (to total, to amount to) · pl odzyskać przytomność (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · fr arriver à (to reach, to arrive at) · fi palata tajuihinsa (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses) · pl odnieść się do (regarding) · pl dotyczyć (regarding) · de wieder zu sich kommen (recover consciousness after fainting — see also come to one's senses)