COME UPON

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

I. (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Take possession of

Example:

She entered upon the estate of her rich relatives

Synonyms:

come upon; enter upon; luck into

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "come upon" is one way to...):

acquire; get (come into the possession of something concrete or abstract)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s something from somebody

Sense 2

Meaning:

Find unexpectedly

Example:

The hikers finally struck the main path to the lake

Synonyms:

attain; chance on; chance upon; come across; come upon; discover; fall upon; happen upon; light upon; strike

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "come upon" is one way to...):

find; regain (come upon after searching; find the location of something that was missed or lost)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Credits

Context examples:

It didn't take particular panda expertise to know that something was amiss when we'd come upon horse-affected bamboo patches.

(Belly up to the bamboo buffet: Pandas vs. horses, NSF)

What was my baggage or Africa to me when I learned that such a fate had come upon my darling?

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And now, if the gods be truly kind, we shall drift by that next headland and come upon a perfectly sheltered beach, where we may land without wetting our feet.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

And Jo dropped down beside the bed in a passion of penitent tears, telling all that had happened, bitterly condemning her hardness of heart, and sobbing out her gratitude for being spared the heavy punishment which might have come upon her.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

To be sure, it would have been more for the advantage of conversation had Miss Lydia Bennet come upon the town; or, as the happiest alternative, been secluded from the world, in some distant farmhouse.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Yes, Watson, we have come upon the handiwork of a very remarkable individual.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I had begun to take comfort too soon, however; yesterday morning the blow fell in the very shape in which it had come upon my father.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I could come upon him when I wished, and no one would be the wiser.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

As he spoke they had ridden round a curve of the road and come upon a great tree which shot one strong brown branch across their path.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"Unless we have come upon a primitive practical joker," Summerlee suggested, "which I should think would be one of the most elementary developments of man."