to come up

Examples

• All

• Okay, we need to come up with a plan.

  Thunderbolts* (2025)

• Right when I came up with the perfect name for it, too.

  My Old Ass (2024)

• And you have to come up with some examples.

  Tim Ferriss

• We can ask the questions ourselves, come up with a list of questions... and then kids can answer them about their schools.

  Walkout (2006)

• If I want to remain competitive, I have to come up with something else.

  Academic text (1999)

• With creative thought, pupils come up with novel ideas unique to the self.

  Academic text (1999)

• I think first of all, you need to come up with some pretty decent branding.

• So I came up with a plan to become a Messiah.

  The Book of Clarence (2024)

• I had to be thrifty and creative to come up with ideas and outfits for the store.

  Academic text (2012)

• In our meeting, we need to come up with a strategy that works for everyone.

Synonyms

C

to create

vsto come up

∞ 1.0

To make something new that does not exist yet

focuses on useful ideas rather than creating things in general

C

to come up with

vsto come up

∞ 2.7

To think of an idea or plan

is identical in meaning but uses an extra short following word

T

to think of

vsto come up

866 2.1

Invent a plan or idea in your mind

often stresses bringing forth something useful rather than simply inventing it

O

to occur

vsto come up

339 2.4

Come into someone's mind suddenly or unexpectedly

is usually unintentional and sudden rather than a produced useful idea

T

to think up

vsto come up

48 3.2

To make up an idea, plan, or excuse

is used more widely for producing useful results beyond pure thought

C

to conjure up

vsto come up

40 6.2

To bring a memory to mind or make something seem to appear by magic

often suggests magical or imaginative appearance rather than practical usefulness

D

to dream up

vsto come up

• Informal

38 3.9

To think of a new or unusual idea

tends to emphasize novelty and creativity rather than practical usefulness

B

to bring forth

vsto come up

16 4.1

To produce or show something new for others to use

usually applies specifically to useful ideas rather than any produced thing

Antonyms

S

to suppress

176 4.8

To stop public protest by force or by people in power

How Creative

to invent

532 3.1

to devise

135 4.8

to come up

∞ 3.2

to propose

∞ 3.0

to suggest

∞ 1.6

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology