COMES UP EMPTY Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

comes up empty

phrase

present tense third-person singular of come up empty

as in fails

to be unsuccessful We searched for a viable candidate but came up empty.

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for comes up empty

falls short

Phrase

An insurance deal falls short of promises Kennedy again took to the HHS stage in June 2025, this time with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, to make what was billed as a game-changing announcement.

— Stephanie Armour, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026
Max Meizlish, a former Treasury official and research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said outright that Monday’s announcement falls short of the objective.

— Christian Datoc, The Washington Examiner, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of falls short

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comes up

comes up empty

comes up with

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“Comes up empty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/comes%20up%20empty. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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