Definition of "come on"

come on

/ˈkʌm ˌɔːn/

noun
plural come ons
1. Alternative spelling of come-on
verb
third-person singular simple present comes on, present participle coming on, simple past came on, past participle come on
1. (transitive) To encounter, discover; to come upon.
2. (intransitive) To appear on a stage or in a performance.
3. (transitive, intransitive) To be broadcast (through a device), or (of a broadcast) to begin playing.
4. (intransitive) To progress, to develop.
  Quotations
  But she looked a lady, Paul declared, as much as Mrs. Major Moreton, and far, far nicer. The family was coming on. Only Morel remained unchanged, or rather, lapsed slowly.
  1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “Chapter 10”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […]
5. (intransitive, of an electric or electronic device, especially a light) To activate; to turn on.
6. (intransitive, idiomatic, with to) To show sexual or relational interest through words or sometimes actions.
  Quotations
  Wait a minute. Are you like coming on to me? Is this a pass? Because, I mean, if it is, sex is like totally out of the question.
  1988, Julie Brown, Charlie Coffey, Terrence E. McNally, Earth Girls Are Easy (motion picture), spoken by Valerie (Geena Davis)
  And so you went with Neve / Oh yeah, and Neve was coming on
  1992, “Babies”, in Jarvis Cocker (lyrics), His 'n' Hers, performed by Pulp
7. (intransitive, idiomatic, colloquial, UK) To get one's period, start menstruating.
  Quotations
  Overall, menstrual modernity in the form of a more efficient throwaway technology was seized on and celebrated, as was the opportunity to send your man off to the shop to get it if you came on suddenly.
  2009, Jenny Diski, “Short cuts”, in London Review of Books, XXXI.20
8. (sports, of a substitute) To enter the playing field.
  Quotations
  Blackburn made their third and final substitution with 25 minutes remaining, with Brett Emerton coming on for Dunn as they looked for ways to stem the Newcastle tide.
  2011 February 12, Nabil Hassan, “Blackburn 0-0 Newcastle”, in BBC‎
  One of few positives from a Burnley perspective was a first appearance of the season for forward Michael Obafemi, who came on with five minutes remaining after recovering from a long-term hamstring injury
  2023 November 11, Matthew Howarth, “Arsenal 3-1 Burnley”, in BBC Sport
9. (intransitive, informal, with adverbial words such as in, by, round, over, up, down) Elaboration of come (in the sense of move towards the speaker or other focus), emphasising motion or progress, or conveying a nuance of familiarity or encouragement.
10. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see come,‎ on.
interjection
1. Come along with me; join me in going.
2. Synonym of let's go, a cheer or expression of support, encouragement, &c.
3. An expression of disbelief.
4. An expression of frustration, exasperation, or impatience; hurry up.
5. An expression of defiance or as a challenge; approach; come at me.
  Quotations
  BOX: […] Hark ye, sir—can you fight?COX: No, sir.BOX: No? Then come on—
  1847, John Maddison Morton, Box and Cox

Definition of "come on"

come on

noun

verb

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interjection

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