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become

be·come

UK/bɪˈkʌm/ US/bəˈkʌm/ very common

verb

1.

enter or assume a certain state or condition

  • “He became annoyed when he heard the bad news”
  • “It must be getting more serious”
  • “her face went red with anger”
  • “She went into ecstasy”
  • “Get going!”
Synonyms
2.

undergo a change or development

  • “The water turned into ice”
  • “Her former friend became her worst enemy”
  • “He turned traitor”
Synonyms
3.

come into existence

  • “What becomes has duration”
4.

enhance the appearance of

  • “Mourning becomes Electra”
  • “This behavior doesn”
Synonyms

Origin

A compound of the sources of be- + come. From Middle English becomen, bicumen, from Old English becuman (“to come (to), approach, arrive, enter, meet with, fall in with; happen, befall; befit”), from Proto-Germanic *bikwemaną (“to come around, come about, come across, come by”), equivalent to be- (“about, around”) + come. Cognate with Scots becum (“to come, arrive, reach a destination”), North Frisian bekommen, bykommen (“to come by, obtain, receive”), West Frisian bikomme (“to come by, obtain, receive”), Dutch bekomen (“to come by, obtain, receive”), German bekommen (“to get, receive, obtain”), Swedish bekomma (“to receive, concern”), Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐌵𐌹𐌼𐌰𐌽 (biqiman, “to come upon one, befall”). Sense of "befit, suit" due to influence from Middle English cweme, icweme, see queem. Displaced Old English weorþan.

Phrases

  • become of
  • become one flesh
  • become one with one's inner self
  • become the Joker

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Related verbs

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.