To come upon

To come upon
Upon Up*on", prep.[AS. uppan, uppon; upp up + on, an, on. See {Up}, and {On}.] On; -- used in all the senses of that word, with which it is interchangeable. ``Upon an hill of flowers.'' --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

Our host upon his stirrups stood anon. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

Thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar. --Ex. xxix. 21. [1913 Webster]

The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. --Judg. xvi. 9. [1913 Webster]

As I did stand my watch upon the hill. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

He made a great difference between people that did rebel upon wantonness, and them that did rebel upon want. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]

This advantage we lost upon the invention of firearms. --Addison. [1913 Webster]

Upon the whole, it will be necessary to avoid that perpetual repetition of the same epithets which we find in Homer. --Pope. [1913 Webster]

He had abandoned the frontiers, retiring upon Glasgow. --Sir. W. Scott. [1913 Webster]

Philip swore upon the Evangelists to abstain from aggression in my absence. --Landor. [1913 Webster]

Note: Upon conveys a more distinct notion that on carries with it of something that literally or metaphorically bears or supports. It is less employed than it used to be, on having for the most part taken its place. Some expressions formed with it belong only to old style; as, upon pity they were taken away; that is, in consequence of pity: upon the rate of thirty thousand; that is, amounting to the rate: to die upon the hand; that is, by means of the hand: he had a garment upon; that is, upon himself: the time is coming fast upon; that is, upon the present time. By the omission of its object, upon acquires an adverbial sense, as in the last two examples. [1913 Webster]

{To assure upon} (Law), to promise; to undertake.

{To come upon}. See under {Come}.

{To take upon}, to assume. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • come upon — [v] happen upon bump into*, chance, come across, encounter, meet; concepts 38,384 …   New thesaurus

  • come upon — ► come upon 1) attack by surprise. 2) see come on (sense 2). Main Entry: ↑come …   English terms dictionary

  • come upon someone — come upon (someone/something) to find or meet someone or something, esp. unexpectedly. We came upon a farmer setting a fire to clear off dead grass from the pasture …   New idioms dictionary

  • come upon something — come upon (someone/something) to find or meet someone or something, esp. unexpectedly. We came upon a farmer setting a fire to clear off dead grass from the pasture …   New idioms dictionary

  • come upon — (someone/something) to find or meet someone or something, esp. unexpectedly. We came upon a farmer setting a fire to clear off dead grass from the pasture …   New idioms dictionary

  • come upon — index discover, find (discover), invent (produce for the first time), locate Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • come upon — verb 1. find unexpectedly (Freq. 10) the archeologists chanced upon an old tomb she struck a goldmine The hikers finally struck the main path to the lake • Syn: ↑fall upon, ↑strike, ↑light upon, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • come upon — phrasal verb [transitive] Word forms come upon : present tense I/you/we/they come upon he/she/it comes upon present participle coming upon past tense came upon past participle come upon mainly literary 1) come upon someone/something to meet… …   English dictionary

  • come upon — 1) PHRASAL VERB If you come upon someone or something, you meet them or find them by chance. [V P n] I came upon an irresistible item at a yard sale. Syn: come across 2) PHRASAL VERB If an attitude or feeling comes upon you, it begins to affect… …   English dictionary

  • come upon — verb a) To come across; to encounter; to stumble upon; to discover or find, especially by chance or accident. We came upon the skeleton while we were hiking. b) …   Wiktionary

  • To come upon — Come Come, v. i. [imp. {Came}; p. p. {Come}; p. pr & vb. n. {Coming}.] [OE. cumen, comen, AS. cuman; akin to OS.kuman, D. komen, OHG. queman, G. kommen, Icel. koma, Sw. komma, Dan. komme, Goth. giman, L. venire (gvenire), Gr. ? to go, Skr. gam.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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