come up

1. To physically travel from a lower point or level to a higher one. When you get here, just come up to my apartment—it's on the fourth floor. Come up here and look at this leak in the bathroom.

2. To rise in the sky, as of the sun. These days, I'm always awake before the sun comes up, thanks to my infant daughter.

3. To become a topic of discussion. Unfortunately, the idea of a raise never came up in our meeting.

4. To happen or occur unexpectedly. Setbacks keep coming up in our investigation.

5. To come near or approach. He came up to me in the club and asked if I would like to dance.

6. To compare with or equal something in value, size, standards, etc. The new courthouse doesn't come up to the grand elegance of the old building, but it will be much more functionally efficient. My electric car doesn't come up to sports cars in terms of speed, but I'd rather have one that doesn't require gasoline.

7. To be increasingly successful, especially by advancing one's social status or financial situation. This definition is often used in the phrase "come up in the world." You will always reap the rewards of hard work, but you can truly come up by making connections and knowing the right people. After college, Lauren came up quickly in the world of medicine.

8. To increase in value. Luckily, housing prices in our neighborhood have come up since we bought our house.

1. Lit. to come from a lower place to a higher one. You can come up now. They are gone. Come up and enjoy the view from the tallest rooftop in the county.

2. Lit. to come near; to approach. He came up and began to talk to us. A heron came up while we were fishing, but it just ignored us.

3. Fig. to come to someone's attention. The question of what time to be there never came up. The matter came up, but it was never dealt with.

1. Arise, present itself, as in This question never came up. [Mid-1800s]

2. Rise (from a lower place to a higher one) as in We'll leave as soon as the sun comes up. [9th century]

3. Also, come up to. Approach, come near, as in He came up and said hello, or The dog came right up to Nora. [Early 1700s]

4. Also, come up to. Rise in status or value, be equal to, as in His paintings will never come up to his teacher's, or This officer came up through the ranks. [c. 1600] A variant is come up or rise in the world , used for someone who has risen in rank, wealth, or status; for example, He has really come up in the world-he now owns a yacht, or I could see at once that she was a woman who would rise in the world. Also see the subsequent idioms beginning with come up.