English · Phrasal verb Attested

come about

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Sense 1

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

To come to pass; to develop; to occur; to take place; to happen; to exist.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Xảy ra, diễn ra, tồn tại

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

We have to ask, how did this come about?

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Sense 2

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

To tack; to change tack; to maneuver the bow of a sailing vessel across the wind so that the wind changes from one side of the vessel to the other; to position a boat with respect to the wind after tacking. See also come to.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Đổi hướng tàu khi đi ngược gió

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Sense 3

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

To change; to come round.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Thay đổi, quay lại

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “come about” mean?

To come to pass; to develop; to occur; to take place; to happen; to exist.

Is “come about” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.