Meaning
The phrasal verb “come to” has several meanings depending on context:
- Regain consciousness – to wake up after fainting or being unconscious.
- Reach a total or result – when a bill, cost, or amount equals a certain figure.
- Arrive at a decision or realization – to finally understand or decide something.
- Reach a place – to arrive at a destination (less common in modern usage).
Grammar and Usage
- come to + noun/amount → “The bill came to $50.”
- come to + realization/decision → “She came to the conclusion that he was right.”
- come to (no object) → meaning “regain consciousness”: “He fainted but soon came to.”
Part of speech: phrasal verb (intransitive or transitive depending on usage).
Common Phrases
- come to life
- come to terms with
- come to mind
- come to an agreement
- come to a standstill
Collocations
- come to + $50 / 1,000 yen / 10 points
- come to + the conclusion/decision/realization
- come to + life/mind/terms/standstill
Examples
- After fainting, she slowly came to.
- The meal came to 3,000 yen including drinks.
- He finally came to the conclusion that he needed to change jobs.
- The project came to a standstill due to lack of funding.
- Nothing came to mind when he asked me for suggestions.
- The old town came to life during the summer festival.
- It took her months to come to terms with the loss.
- After hours of negotiation, they came to an agreement.
Synonyms or Related
- regain consciousness
- realize
- reach
- total
- amount to
Antonym
- lose consciousness
- remain unaware
- fail to reach an agreement