come through — succeed in a difficult situation
phrasal verbB2IELTS 6+neutralcommon
to do what is needed or expected, especially when it is difficult or important.
Say it like a native
Textbook Despite the pressure, she successfully delivered what was required.
Native Under pressure, she really came through.
'Come through' captures delivering when it counts; the formal paraphrase is wordy and loses the warmth.
Pattern: come through (for someone/in something)
In use
- I was really counting on my team, and they came through with a great presentation.work
- In group projects, it's important to have members who always come through when things get tough.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ He came through the project on time.
✓ He came through on the project. / He came through for us.
You 'come through for' someone or 'come through on' something — not 'come through' the thing directly.
Common collocations
come through (for/on)— for me, in the end, for the team, when it mattered
Don't confuse it
Different from 'come across', which means to seem or appear a certain way.
Related
- come through (survive a difficult situation) — Another meaning of 'come through' is 'survive a difficult situation'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.