come close

idiom

: to almost do something

We didn't win, but we came close.

—often + to

The band came very close to breaking up.

We came close to winning the championship this season.

: to be similar to something or as good as expected

She said they taste just like real hot dogs, but they don't even come close (to the real thing).

Examples of come close in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But the six records broken or tied in the area covering Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo counties didn’t come close to matching 2020 — when records fell in all 14 stations, Sirard said. —

Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2024 Reality check: Even if a strike happens, disruptions won't come close to the crisis at the ports brought on by the pandemic. —

Emily Peck, Axios, 14 Aug. 2024 But nonfiction books about the health care crisis, especially the more academic ones, have not solved the problem, or even come close to doing so. —

David Weill, STAT, 9 Aug. 2024 Even many average neighborhoods didn’t come close to my standard of comfort. —

Helen Zhao, Contributor, CNBC, 2 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for come close

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'come close.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.