AAAmerican Accent US

come up with

Inseparable

The verb and particle never split. The object always follows the whole phrase.

How to say it

Main stress lands on the first particle: come UP with. The trailing “with” reduces almost to nothing — expect a schwa, not a full vowel.

Link across the gap. The final /m/ of “come” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “come up” is said “co-mup”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.

What it means

  1. To produce or invent an idea or solution.

    • “She came up with a plan that saved the project.”
    • “Can anyone come up with a better name?”

    Similar: devise, think up

The particle logic

up

Something is finished, raised, improved, or brought together.

with

The person or thing the action is done alongside.

Listen + practice

Hear “come up with” spoken naturally

Pick a sentence to record

Read the sentence aloud. Keep the stress on the particle and run the two words together — we’ll score every sound and flag what to work on.

Click to record

More COME phrasal verbs

Compare the whole family →

come across

To find or meet something by chance.

come up

(Of a topic or problem) to arise.

come back

To return to a place.

come down with

To start to have an illness, usually a minor one.

come over

To visit someone's home.

come out

To become known or be published.

come in

To enter a place.

come along

To accompany someone.

come around

To change your mind and accept something.

come off

To become detached.

come apart

To fall into pieces.

come between

To damage the relationship between two people.

come up with — meaning, examples & how to say it