Definition of How come

1. Adverb. (idiomatic informal) Why; why is it; for what reason or purpose? ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of How Come

how't
how've
how-d'ye-do
how-do-you-do
how-to
how-to-vote card
how-to-vote cards
how-tos
how about
how are you
how are you doing
how are you getting along
how can you sleep at night
how come (current term)
how did he die
how do I get to
how do I get to the airport
how do I get to the bus station
how do I get to the train station
how do ye do
how do you do
how do you like them apples
how do you pronounce this word
how do you say...in English
how do you spell this word
how goes it
how long
how long is a piece of string

Literary usage of How come

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage by Inc. Merriam-Webster (1994)
"See AS HOW. how come how come is a familiar phrase of obscure origin that ... “) find how come unsuitable in writing. Reader's Digest 1983 dismisses it as ..."

2. Philosophy and Religion: Selections from the Manuscripts of the Late James by James Hinton (1881)
"how come we to perceive a physical world ?—Wherever sin is, matter is—The law of cause and effect is a form of thought—God's act is not the cause but the ..."

3. Origines Sacrae: Or a Rational Account of the Grounds of Natural and by Edward Stillingfleet (1817)
"how come birds and fishes so very much to exceed mankind in the frame of those ... how come the seasons of bringing forth to be so settled, that there is a ..."

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