Word.ws English Dictionary

come to papa

Syllables: come to pa·paUK/ˌkʌm tə ˈpɑːpə/US/ˌkʌm tə ˈpɑːpə/

come to papa phrase: used to encourage someone or something to approach, or an event to occur.

Phrase (1)

come to papa

  1. (idiomatic) Used to encourage someone or something to approach, or an event to occur.
    • Cut loose, let your hair down, honey / Unwind, turn the lights down low / Relax, let's uncork the stopper / Come to papa, come on, let's go1962 August 30 and September 22 (dates recorded), Roy C. Bennett, Sid Tepper, “Relax”, in It Happened at the World’s Fair (soundtrack), performed by Elvis Presley, New York, N.Y.: RCA Victor...
    Synonyms:
    come to daddy, come to mamma

Phrase (2) capitalized: come to Papa

come to Papa

  1. Alternative letter-case form of come to papa.
    • I poked my head in the den just as Josh threw down a winning hand and yelled, “Yes! Come to Papa!” He swept the chips toward him and said, “Now I can pay for a real honeymoon!”2004 December, Timothy James Beck [pseudonym; Timothy Forry; Timothy J. Lambert; Jim Carter; Becky Cochrane], chapter 10, in I’m Your Man, New York, N.Y.: Kensington Books, →ISBN, page 201
    • The soldier pointed to the East at a black craft that suddenly appeared out of the clear blue sky, barreling towards them. “Yes… Yes, come to Papa!” Raymond’s heart pumped excitedly as he jumped back to his feet. It was as if at that very moment everyone saw the craft and stopped shooting to watch...2005, Michael Laberge, chapter 26, in Final Phase (The Struggle; 1), Victoria, B.C.: Trafford Publishing, →ISBN, page 234

Synonyms of come to papa

  • come to daddy
  • come to mamma

Forms of come to papa

alternative formcome to Papa

Origin of come to papa

PIE word *ph₂tḗr From come + to + papa (“familiar or old-fashioned term of address to one’s father”), originally an invitation by a father for his child to come to him; later called out by gamblers when throwing dice to “invite” winning numbers.

Words that rhyme with come to papa

Questions about come to papa

What does come to papa mean?
Come to papa means used to encourage someone or something to approach, or an event to occur.
What part of speech is come to papa?
Come to papa is a phrase.
How do you pronounce come to papa?
Come to papa is pronounced /ˌkʌm tə ˈpɑːpə/ (UK).

Words near come to papa in the dictionary

  1. come to nought
  2. come to one's hand
  3. come to one's senses
  4. come to oneself
  5. come to order
  6. come to papa
  7. come to pass
  8. come to power
  9. come to rest
  10. come to someone's aid
  11. come to someone's rescue

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: come to papa (page history and authors); come to Papa (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-come to papa.ogg.

Cite this entry: “come to papa.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/come_to_papa. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.