come through — survive a difficult situation
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
to manage to survive or recover after a tough or dangerous experience.
Say it like a native
Textbook She managed to recover from the serious illness.
Native She came through the illness.
'Come through' is the natural verb for surviving something hard; 'managed to recover from' is heavier.
Pattern: come through (something)
In use
- After a long battle with the disease, she finally came through and is feeling much better now.health
- When my grandmother was very sick last year, we were all worried, but she came through and is now back to her normal routine.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ He came through from the operation well.
✓ He came through the operation well.
'Come through' takes the ordeal directly — no 'from'.
Common collocations
come through + ordeal— the operation, the worst, it okay, unscathed
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'get through', which can mean simply finishing something, not necessarily surviving a challenge.
Related
- come through (succeed in a difficult situation) — Another meaning of 'come through' is 'succeed in a difficult situation'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.