DictionaryAI

become

verb
bi-KUM/bɪˈkʌm/

Formsbecomes, becoming, became, become

5 meanings of become

Practice

  1. 1
    turn intoverb
    To begin to be something, or to change into a different state or thing.

    Like ice turning into water as it warms.

    Caterpillars become butterflies after weeks inside a cocoon.

    He worked for years to become the company's leader.

    UsagePast became, past participle become (has become). Unlike get or grow, it easily takes a noun: become a nurse.

    Similarget, turn, grow, go (entry)

  2. 2
    happenverbintransitive
    To happen to someone or something, used with 'of', especially in asking about their later fate; on its own, 'to arise or occur' is archaic.

    Travelers often wondered what would become of those who vanished into the forest.

    Whatever should become of his fortune, he resolved to meet it calmly.

    Similarhappen

    Note

    Lord Dunsany's Time and the Gods (1906) has a world that existed "or ever the gods became."

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Lord Dunsany wrote Time and the Gods, first published in 1906. gutenberg.org
    • The book's narration describes worlds existing before the gods, using the exact words quoted. en.wikisource.org
  3. 3
    look good onverbtransitive
    Of clothing, color, or adornment: to look attractive on the person wearing it.

    Shorter hairstyles seem to become her far more than long ones do.

    That shade of green really becomes him, bringing out the color of his eyes.

    UsageSuit is the more common word: that color suits you.

    Similarsuit, flatter

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    be properverbtransitive
    To be proper or fitting for someone; to suit what is expected of a person.

    Modesty becomes the truly accomplished far more than boasting.

    It would not become an officer to flee his post.

    UsagePatterns include it does not become someone to ..., as in it does not become you to lie, and as became his rank.

    Similarbefit, suit, behoove

    Note

    Here the fit is one of conduct: what becomes a person suits their station or character. Duff Cooper's Talleyrand (1932) shows it neatly, with a manner of living that "became his rank rather than his calling." Keep it distinct from the flattering-clothes meaning, where the fit is to the eye, not to behavior.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

  2. 5
    verbobsoleteintransitive
    To arrive at or come to a place.
    But, madam, where is Warwick then become?
    c. 1591, William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt,”
    & thenne the noble knyghte sire Launcelot departed with ryghte heuy chere sodenly / that none erthely creature wyste of hym / nor where he was become / but sir Bors
    1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur
    Note

    An obsolete sense that is easy to misread, kept closest to the "come to, arrive" of the Old English verb. Malory's "nor where he was become" (1485) and "where is Warwick then become?" in Shakespeare's The Third Part of Henry the Sixt both mean "where has he gone," not "what has he turned into." Note the auxiliary be. Today it belongs only to reading older texts, while modern writing uses go or come.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

    • Become has an obsolete sense meaning to arrive or come to a place. en.wiktionary.org
    • The arrival sense preserves a meaning of its Old English ancestor becuman. en.wiktionary.org
    • The quoted words occur in Malory's narration in Le Morte D'Arthur, Book XVIII, Chapter II, and concern where Launcelot has gone. gutenberg.org
    • Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur was first published in 1485. hockliffe.dmu.ac.uk
    • The Shakespeare quotation occurs in Henry VI, Part 3, Act 4, scene 4; Rivers speaks it, asking about Warwick's whereabouts. folger.edu
    • These older constructions use be as the perfect auxiliary. en.wiktionary.org

Practice

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Origin

A compound of be- ("about, around") and come, from Middle English becomen and Old English becuman ("to come to, arrive, happen, befit"), going back to Proto-Germanic *bikwemaną. It is related to Dutch bekomen and German bekommen ("to get, receive"), and its sense of "befit, suit" came from the influence of Middle English cweme.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 7 facts