come up — arise (of a problem, opportunity, or situation)
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
to happen or appear unexpectedly, especially when talking about problems, opportunities, or situations.
Say it like a native
Textbook An unforeseen matter has materialised.
Native Something's come up.
'Something's come up' is the natural way to say an issue has arisen; 'a matter has materialised' is stilted.
Pattern: come up (subject: problem, opportunity, situation)
In use
- Sorry I’m late—something urgent came up at work.daily life
- In my opinion, it’s important to have a backup plan in case any unexpected problems come up during your travels.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ Sorry, something came up to me.
✓ Sorry, something came up.
'Come up' is intransitive here — no 'to me'.
Common collocations
come up + arise— something, a problem, an opportunity, unexpectedly
Don't confuse it
Not to be confused with 'come out' (to be released or published) or 'come over' (to visit).
Related
- come up (be mentioned (in conversation or discussion)) — Another meaning of 'come up' is 'be mentioned (in conversation or discussion)'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.