phrasal verb · neutral
come in handy
/kʌm ɪn ˈhændi/come in HAN·dy
speakingtask2
be useful in a particular situation
Examples
“Bring a torch — it might come in handy later.”
“That extra umbrella came in handy during the downpour.”
“I keep a spare charger because it often comes in handy when travelling.”
Band 8 sentence
“I always pack a small sewing kit because it tends to come in handy during unexpected wardrobe mishaps on trips.”
Collocations
- come in handy for sth
- prove/turn out to come in handy
Word family
come in handy basecomes in handy 3rd sgcame in handy pastcoming in handy participle
Common mistakes
This tool will come handy.→This tool will come in handy.
My phone come in handy yesterday.→My phone came in handy yesterday.
Say it for a higher band
5be useful→6be handy→7+come in handy
Synonyms
be useful
be handy
Easily confused
be useful
“The extra cash came in handy when my car broke down.”
Related words
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In come …
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