come close

idiom

1
: 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.
2
: 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
While Scottie Scheffler posted his best score of the week so far, Kim could not even come close to his exceptional performance of the previous day. Julio Cesar Valdera Morales, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 May 2025 The Missouri native has come close, but painful on-track mishaps have always gotten in the way. Jonathan Hawkins, CNN Money, 9 May 2025 For Connor Hellebuyck, Game 7 against St. Louis will come close. Murat Ates, New York Times, 3 May 2025 No other president in the early days of their administrations has come close to matching Trump’s recent gold boom. David Goldman, CNN Money, 22 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for come close

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Come close.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come%20close. Accessed 31 May. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!