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come through

B1 neutral inseparable both
In simple words

To make it past something hard, or to do what someone needed you to do.

Literal meaning: To move from one side to the other by passing through something.

Meanings

1 B1 idiomatic neutral

To survive a dangerous, painful, or difficult experience.

"The doctors weren't sure he would make it, but he came through the operation just fine."

"We shall come through."

— Winston Churchill, speech to the House of Commons, 1940
Grammar: inseparable
2 B1 idiomatic informal

To do what was needed or expected; to deliver on a promise or duty.

"I wasn't sure she could finish the report in time, but she really came through for us."

Grammar: inseparable
3 B2 neutral

Of information, a signal, or a message: to be received or transmitted successfully.

"The fax finally came through after three failed attempts."

Grammar: inseparable
4 B2 idiomatic neutral

Of a quality or feeling: to be clearly visible or perceptible in something.

"Her passion for the subject really comes through in her writing."

Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes

Often used to express relief that someone has survived danger or fulfilled a promise. The intransitive sense ('she came through') is very common in spoken English. The transitive sense ('he came through the surgery') is also natural.

Commonly used with

surgery crisis promise ordeal challenge test

Forms

Base
come through
I/you/we/they
3rd person
comes through
he/she/it
Past simple
came through
yesterday
Past participle
come through
have + pp
-ing form
coming through
continuous

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