come again?

INFORMAL
This page is about the conversational phrase come again?

Meaning

You can say this if you don't understand a word or phrase that someone's used.

For example

  • "My wife's a paediatrician."
    "Come again?"
    "A doctor for kids. It's a special field of medicine."

  • "Don't rock the boat, Dmitry."
    "Come again?"
    "Don't make trouble, or don't upset them."

Note:
"Come again?" is quite informal, and can even sound rude to some people, so in a formal situation it's better to say "Excuse me?" or "Pardon?", even though the meaning is less clear.

Quick Quiz

You can say "Come again?" if someone uses a word

a. you can't pronounce

b. you don't know

c. you can't spell
a) you can't pronounce b) you don't know c) you can't spell

Contributor: Matt Errey