phrasal verb · neutral
come down to
UK/kʌm daʊn tuː/US/kʌm daʊn tu/COME down TO
to be the most important thing that influences a situation; essentially be a matter of
Examples
“It comes down to how much money we can afford to spend.”
“Success in the exam comes down to preparation and mindset.”
“The decision comes down to one key factor.”
Band 8 sentence
“When comparing the two proposals objectively, it inevitably comes down to cost-effectiveness.”
Collocations
- come down to the money/price
- come down to personal preference
- come down to preparation
Word family
Common mistakes
Everything comes down on the cost.→Everything comes down to the cost.
It comes down for three reasons.→It comes down to three reasons.
The problem come down to money.→The problem comes down to money.
Say it for a higher band
5depend on→6boil down to→7+come down to
Synonyms
boil down to
depend on
Easily confused
boil down to
“It all boils down to a lack of funding.”
depend on
“The outcome depends on weather conditions.”
Related words
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In come …
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