come to terms

verb

To reach an agreement or settle a dispute.

“We hope someday she and her mother will come to terms on the matter.”

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Meanings

verbcome to terms (third-person singular simple present comes to terms, present participle coming to terms, simple past came to terms, past participle come to terms)

present singular third person comes to terms · participle present coming to terms · past came to terms

  1. idiomaticoftenTo reach an agreement or settle a dispute.

    We hope someday she and her mother will come to terms on the matter.

    1 more example

    In the rumbustious atmosphere of the mania years, 1845 and 1846, this state of things gave rise to acrimony which both sides faced with confidence; but as the reaction set in during 1847, it seemed better to come to terms.

    1955 February, Michael Robbins, “A Railway Treaty: The Brighton and South Eastern Agreement of 1848”, in Railway Magazine, page 98

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
bargain
Cite this entry
APA

come to terms. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20to%20terms

MLA

“come to terms.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20to%20terms. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “come to terms,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20to%20terms.

Source: come to terms on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.