# become

Pronunciation: say "bi-KUM" /bɪˈkʌm/

## Verb

1. To begin to be something, or to change into a different state or thing.
   - Simple: To start to be something you were not before.
   - _Caterpillars become butterflies after weeks inside a cocoon._
   - _He worked for years to become the company's leader._
2. 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.
   - Simple: Used with 'of' to talk about what happens to someone or something later, as in 'what became of him?'
   - _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._
3. Of clothing, color, or adornment: to look attractive on the person wearing it.
   - Simple: To look nice on someone, as clothes or colors can.
   - _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._
4. To be proper or fitting for someone; to suit what is expected of a person.
   - Simple: To be the right and fitting thing for someone to do.
   - _Modesty becomes the truly accomplished far more than boasting._
   - _It would not become an officer to flee his post._

## Verb

5. To arrive at or come to a place. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To arrive somewhere, or to reach a place.

## 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.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/become (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).