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Glite Dictionary
to come in for

to come in for

8 6.4
To receive praise, criticism, or blame
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : recibir
  • The political role of empathy sometimes comes in for criticism, particularly among conservatives.
  • come in for criticism

Patrick Moynihan comes in for, you know, a lot of abuse in this book.

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Examples

  • The company's decision to cut jobs came in for significant backlash from employees.

  • Both presidential candidates have come in for criticism for playing hard and fast with the truth during the campaign.

    Blog text (6)

  • It's almost impossible to do it in such a way that you don't come in for criticism.

    Blog text (11)

  • Auel's use of artistic license has come in for its fair share of criticism.

    Academic text (2002)

  • The professor's effort at codification has come in for severe criticism, but the very act of memorializing standards was valuable.

    Academic text (2008)

  • Given the strong prohibition on extramarital sex in santaneros' definition of respectable womanhood, rich women come in for harsh criticism.

    Academic text (1993)

  • The new policy came in for heavy criticism from environmental groups.

  • After the scandal broke, the politician came in for widespread blame.

Synonyms

to get in trouble
vsto come in for
203 2.7

Face blame or punishment for something you did wrong

focuses on receiving criticism specifically rather than all kinds of negative outcomes
to incur
vsto come in for
  • Formal
69 6.2

To have to pay or suffer something bad because of what you do

is neutral about cause and can mean receiving criticism without stressing causation
to take a lot of flak
vsto come in for
1 7.4

Get a lot of criticism or blame from other people

is used for receiving criticism but not necessarily at such intensity
to catch heat
vsto come in for
  • Informal
1 8.3

To get criticism or blame from others for something you did

is used more generally and can come from any source
to catch it from
vsto come in for
  • Informal
1 8.7

Get a strong scolding from someone after doing something wrong

is broader and does not emphasize direct personal scolding or punishment

Antonyms

to avoid
∞ 1.0

To stay away from something or not do it to stop something bad from happening

to exempt
  • Formal
30 4.1

To free someone officially from a rule or obligation

Surface Forms

come in for infinitive
coming in for present participle
comes in for third person singular
came in for past
come in for past participle

Morphology

come + in + for

The sense 'to receive or be subjected to (criticism)' does not follow straightforwardly from the literal meanings of 'come' (arrive), 'in' (inside) and 'for' (for/recipient); the sequence 'come in for' functions as a phrasal-prepositional verb with an idiomatic sense. Learners who know the individual words but have not seen this construction are unlikely to predict the exact meaning, though those familiar with related patterns like 'be in for' may find it partially transparent.

Etymology

Come in for creates the image of someone who comes in for criticism or praise from a crowd. That's why to come in for something means 'to receive' praise, criticism or blame.