to come to mind
120
3.0
- phrasal verb
:
ocurrírsele (a alguien)
- When I mention summer, the beach always comes to mind.
- come to mind immediately
- come to mind readily
- questions come to mind
Another issue that comes to mind here is determinism.
- Another issue that comes to mind here is determinism.
- I mean, one that comes to mind is trickle down economics.
- And this comes to mind for two reasons.
- And now everyone who comes to mind, put them on the paper.
- And you know, mosaic comes to mind, tapestry comes to mind.
- Does anything come to mind that would fit that question?
- And now every person who comes to mind, put them on that paper.
- So what is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of pink food?
- Is there anything else that comes to mind like big macro games?
- Oh, Joe, Joe, you know what came to mind as soon as I watched those clips?
Examples
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Just say whatever comes to mind.
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Actually, someone does come to mind.
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I mean, something comes to mind for me, but what?
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And this comes to mind for two reasons.
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Just anything that comes to mind when you look at me.
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At the moment, nothing comes to mind.
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The only rule is to say what comes to mind.
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So what is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of pink food?
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The first thing that comes to mind is the potential impact on indigenous culture.
Academic text (1999) -
Three options come to mind as potential solutions to this unsatisfactory result.
Academic text (2017)
Synonyms
∞
1.5
Enter your mind without effort
546
3.1
Suddenly have an idea or memory
339
2.4
Come into someone's mind suddenly or unexpectedly
13
3.9
A thought or memory comes into your mind suddenly and briefly
8
3.4
To come quickly into your head without trying
Antonyms
How Clear
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an idea or memory occurs to someone' is directly derivable from 'come' (to arrive/move), 'to' (direction toward), and 'mind' (the faculty that thinks) — i.e. something "comes to" the mind. This locative/motion-to-mental-state metaphor is cross-linguistically common (e.g., venir a la mente, venir à l'esprit) and follows a predictable compositional pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will likely understand it.
Etymology
The phrase come to mind makes a simple picture: an idea seems to come like a visitor into your mind, arriving suddenly. So, it means 'to suddenly think of or remember' something.