Come Down With Something: Meaning, Examples & Usage

Meaning 1：become ill (come down with something)

come down with something 🔊

/kʌm daʊn wɪð ˈsʌmθɪŋ/

phr.v.

To start to have an illness, often suddenly, like getting a cold or fever.

Come down with something: person sick in bed with thermometer and tissues

become ill 🔊

➕

/bɪˈkʌm ɪl/

phr.v.

To start suffering from an illness, typically a minor one like a cold, flu, or infection, often suddenly.

📁 Category：Physical & Mental Health 🔖 Level：intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

Literally 'descend with,' from Old English 'cuman' + 'dūn' + 'wiþ,' evolved to mean being affected by an illness.

💡 Mnemonic

Imagine a heavy burden (the illness) coming down on your shoulders, making you collapse into bed.

📖 Example

She came down with a fever after the school trip and had to stay home. 🔊 She came down with a fever after the school trip and had to stay home.

🔗 Collocations

come down with a cold – to develop a cold

come down with the flu – to develop the flu

come down with a stomach bug – to develop a stomach illness

🔄 Synonyms

catch (v.) – to contract an illness, especially one that is infectious

contract (v.) – to become infected with a disease

fall ill (phrase) – to become sick or unwell

🚫 Antonyms

recover from (phr.v.) – to return to good health after an illness

get better (phrase) – to improve in health after being sick

📖 Cultural Story

Originating in the 19th century, the phrase suggests an illness physically 'coming down' upon a person. It is a common idiom in everyday English for sudden onset of minor diseases like colds or flu.