come up and bite

verb

To be extremely obvious to (someone), to be impossible for (someone) to miss and ignore.

“You really think you can convince the committee? Come on! You wouldn't know charisma if it came up and bit you.”

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Meanings

verbcome up and bite (third-person singular simple present comes up and bites, present participle coming up and biting, simple past came up and bit, past participle come up and bitten)

present singular third person comes up and bites · participle present coming up and biting · past came up and bit · participle past come up and bitten

  1. colloquialidiomaticTo be extremely obvious to (someone), to be impossible for (someone) to miss and ignore.

    These new recruits are terrible soldiers. They wouldn't know what to do with an enemy if one came up and bit them.

  2. colloquialidiomaticTo clearly expose itself to (someone).

    You really think you can convince the committee? Come on! You wouldn't know charisma if it came up and bit you.

Cite this entry
APA

come up and bite. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20up%20and%20bite

MLA

“come up and bite.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20up%20and%20bite. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “come up and bite,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20up%20and%20bite.

Source: come up and bite on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.