1
: something (such as an advertising promotion) intended to entice or allure
2
: a usually sexual advance
came on; come on; coming on; comes on
1
a
: to advance by degrees
darkness came on
b
: to begin by degrees
rain came on toward noon
2
a
: please
—used in cajoling or pleading
b
—used interjectionally to express astonishment, incredulity, or recognition of a put-on
3
: to project an indicated personal image
comes on as a conservative
4
: to show sexual interest in someone
also
: to make sexual advances
—usually used with to
tried to come on to her
Synonyms
Examples of come-on in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2023
The whole ride, she’s been pursing her lips and meeting his gaze in the rearview mirror in ways that some men might take as a come-on.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 3 Sep. 2023
Or the Hollywood sign, originally a real-estate come-on and the site of an early movieland suicide.
—John Anderson, wsj.com, 25 Apr. 2023
And though Jaxton is an obvious skeeve, decentering his maleness only as a kind of tantric come-on, Foley does it so well that the character is somehow attractive.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2023
The show's diva/icon/legend/the-moment-now-come-on is Ni'Jah, whose entire aesthetic and many major life and career achievements are lifted directly from the life of one Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 21 Mar. 2023
Giveaways, gimmicks, and novelty come-ons of all sorts proliferated.
—Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Mar. 2023
This sort of blanket approach targets a common practice among robotexters, which is to use different numbers (real or spoofed) to originate successive come-ons or phishing attempts.
—Jon Healey, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Mar. 2023
But she isn’t intimidated by the brothers, illustrated early on by her initial rebuff of Albert’s come-on.
—Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Mar. 2023
Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 4 May 2024
But those factories and mines will take years to come on line.
—Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 3 May 2024
The energetic midfielder scored against New England shortly after coming on as a sub for Julian Gressel in the 75th minute.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 3 May 2024
After coming on as a wildcard contestant last week, Seal swam up to the stage next.
—Dana Rose Falcone, Peoplemag, 2 May 2024
Harden’s only points after halftime came on a couple of third-quarter free throws.
—Dylan Hernández, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2024
The first came on a mistake from Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller, a drive that carried 399 feet down the left field line and left the bat at 106.5 miles per hour.
—Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 1 May 2024
The Senate is expected to take up the bill as early as Tuesday, although the vote could come on Wednesday, said CBS News congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2024
And Victoria Thomas, who served as the casting director for the filmmaker’s Once Upon a Time, Hateful Eight and Django Unchained, was in the process of coming on board and is said to have been making some initial outreach to actors when the effort went belly up.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Apr. 2024
Noun
Books Is Madonna a game-changing feminist or capitalist come-on?
—Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2023
The whole ride, she’s been pursing her lips and meeting his gaze in the rearview mirror in ways that some men might take as a come-on.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 3 Sep. 2023
Or the Hollywood sign, originally a real-estate come-on and the site of an early movieland suicide.
—John Anderson, wsj.com, 25 Apr. 2023
And though Jaxton is an obvious skeeve, decentering his maleness only as a kind of tantric come-on, Foley does it so well that the character is somehow attractive.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2023
The show's diva/icon/legend/the-moment-now-come-on is Ni'Jah, whose entire aesthetic and many major life and career achievements are lifted directly from the life of one Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 21 Mar. 2023
Giveaways, gimmicks, and novelty come-ons of all sorts proliferated.
—Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Mar. 2023
This sort of blanket approach targets a common practice among robotexters, which is to use different numbers (real or spoofed) to originate successive come-ons or phishing attempts.
—Jon Healey, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Mar. 2023
But she isn’t intimidated by the brothers, illustrated early on by her initial rebuff of Albert’s come-on.
—Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Mar. 2023
Verb
By the time Post Malone came on stage and knocked out his high-energy, crowd-pleasing set while clad in a Luke Combs T-shirt and cutoff jorts, the air was dry and cool.
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 4 May 2024
But those factories and mines will take years to come on line.
—Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 3 May 2024
The energetic midfielder scored against New England shortly after coming on as a sub for Julian Gressel in the 75th minute.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 3 May 2024
After coming on as a wildcard contestant last week, Seal swam up to the stage next.
—Dana Rose Falcone, Peoplemag, 2 May 2024
Harden’s only points after halftime came on a couple of third-quarter free throws.
—Dylan Hernández, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2024
The first came on a mistake from Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller, a drive that carried 399 feet down the left field line and left the bat at 106.5 miles per hour.
—Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 1 May 2024
The Senate is expected to take up the bill as early as Tuesday, although the vote could come on Wednesday, said CBS News congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2024
And Victoria Thomas, who served as the casting director for the filmmaker’s Once Upon a Time, Hateful Eight and Django Unchained, was in the process of coming on board and is said to have been making some initial outreach to actors when the effort went belly up.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'come-on.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near come-on
Cite this Entry
“Come-on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come-on. Accessed 8 May. 2024.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
come on
intransitive verb
: to be brought forward (as a case in court)
the first prize case of the war…came on for trial—W. G. Young
W. G. YoungLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share