To succeed, survive, or deliver what is needed, especially in a difficult situation.
To make it past something hard, or to do what someone needed you to do.
4 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
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
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."
Of information, a signal, or a message: to be received or transmitted successfully.
"The fax finally came through after three failed attempts."
Of a quality or feeling: to be clearly visible or perceptible in something.
"Her passion for the subject really comes through in her writing."
To move from one side to the other by passing through something.
To make it past something hard, or to do what someone needed you to do.
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.
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Listen to native speakers using "come through" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
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