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come together

/ˌkʌm təˈɡeðər//ˌkʌm təˈɡeðə/·phrasal verb
for separate people or things to unite into one, often in a shared effort
Fig. 1 — I watch five players scattered across the field start walking in, each from a different edge, until they close into a tight ring with no gaps left.
01Definition

To come together is for separate people or things to move into one — to unite, converge, or combine — often after being apart or at odds. It is the plain, warm counterpart to its Latinate synonyms: where a committee might 'convene', friends, teams and communities simply come together. The sense is usually of willed, cooperative union: people come together in a crisis, a plan comes together, a band comes together. As a phrasal verb it is intransitive (people come together); the related noun is a get-together or a coming-together.

02In use
  • iAfter the flood, neighbours who had never spoken came together to clear the debris.
  • iiThe argument only comes together in the final chapter, where the separate threads unite.
  • iiiRival factions came together long enough to pass the emergency law.
03Collocations
  • come together as one
  • come together to (do something)
  • come together in a crisis
  • bring people together
  • it all comes together

Family coming-together (noun) · get-together (noun, informal)

04Relations

=unite, converge, merge, assemble, gather

≠disband, disperse, split

05Compared
PairThe difference
come together vs assemblefit parts together, or gather people in order → assemble; separate people or things simply unite, often in shared effort → come together.
come together vs clustercrowd many things into a tight, dense bunch by nearness → cluster; separate people or things unite into one, often in shared effort → come together.
come together vs combinebring things together into one set (with an object, neutral register) → combine; people or parts uniting on their own (no object, warmer tone) → come together.
come together vs congregateseparate people unite into one, often in shared effort → come together; people crowd together of their own accord, still separate → congregate.
come together vs consolidateseparate people or things simply unite, often in shared effort → come together; combine scattered things into one stronger, firmer whole → consolidate.

Also compared with disband, disperse, dissipate, dissolve, gather, integrate, join, scatter, unite

06TOEFL & IELTS

Come together is an informal phrasal verb — natural in Speaking and less-formal Writing, but in an academic Task 2 essay a single-word synonym (unite, converge, combine) usually reads better. It is intransitive and inseparable: people come together, you cannot 'come something together', though you can bring people together. Mind the irregular tense — came together (past), have come together (perfect), never 'comed'. The event itself is a get-together, or more formally a coming-together.

07Asked
Is it 'come together' or 'come-together'?
The verb is two separate words: people come together. You usually hyphenate it when it turns into a noun or modifier — a coming-together of nations — and the everyday noun for a social meeting is a get-together. Never run it into one word. So: they came together (verb), but it was a warm coming-together (noun).
What does 'come together' mean as a phrasal verb?
It is an intransitive phrasal verb — it takes no object — and a warmer, plainer choice than formal one-word synonyms like unite or converge. It describes separate people or parts joining into one whole, usually by choice and for a shared purpose: rivals come together to face a threat. In the scene above, five players close in from every edge into one ring and stack their hands at the centre.
What is a more formal synonym for 'come together' in an essay?
For academic writing, prefer a single verb: unite, converge, combine or merge for things joining into one, and assemble or convene for people meeting as a group. 'The two datasets were combined' reads better in Task 1 than 'came together'. Save 'come together' for Speaking and for a deliberately warmer tone.
What is the difference between 'come together' and 'get together'?
Come together means to unite into a single whole, often purposefully — the team came together after the setback. Get together is more casual: to meet socially (let's get together on Friday), and it is also the noun get-together. You can get together for coffee, but a nation comes together in a crisis.
Can 'come together' mean that a plan is starting to work?
Yes — when the separate parts of something begin to fit into a working whole: 'my essay is finally coming together', 'the project came together at the last minute'. Here it is close to 'take shape' or 'fall into place'. It describes things making progress toward one result, not only people meeting.