become
Americanverb (used without object)
-
becomes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
became,
past
-
become,
past participle
-
becoming
present participle
-
to come, change, or grow to be (as specified).
He became tired.
-
to come into being.
verb (used with object)
-
becomes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
became,
past
-
become,
past participle
-
becoming
present participle
-
to be attractive on; befit in appearance; look well on.
That gown becomes you.
-
to be suitable or necessary to the dignity, situation, or responsibility of.
conduct that becomes an officer.
idioms
verb
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(copula) to come to be; develop or grow into
he became a monster
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(foll by of; usually used in a question) to fall to or be the lot (of); happen (to)
what became of him?
-
(tr) (of clothes, etc) to enhance the appearance of (someone); suit
that dress becomes you
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(tr) to be appropriate; befit
it ill becomes you to complain
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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becomesimple
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becomessimple
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have becomeperfect
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has becomeperfect
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am becomingprogressive
-
are becomingprogressive
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is becomingprogressive
-
have been becomingperfect progressive
-
has been becomingperfect progressive
Past
-
becamesimple
-
had becomeperfect
-
was becomingprogressive
-
were becomingprogressive
-
had been becomingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of become
First recorded before 900; Middle English becumen, Old English becuman “to come about, happen”; cognate with Dutch bekomen, German bekommen, Gothic biqiman. See be-, come
Explanation
To become is to evolve, change into, or emerge as something. A fertilized egg will hatch and the tiny chick will become a full-grown chicken. When you become angrier and angrier watching the TV news, you begin to feel a certain way. Likewise, when Pinocchio the wooden puppet becomes a real boy in the fairy tale, he changes from toy to human. The word become can also mean "learn how to be" or "be qualified for," as when you dream that some day you'll become an astronaut. The Old English becuman has these meanings, and also "meet with" or "arrive."
Vocabulary lists containing become
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Against zonal defences, an attacker can occupy a gap between opponents and become a free, unmarked player.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
"If we become too dependent on services or products from a given country, that makes us vulnerable, whatever that country may be," Skjold-Lorange warned.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
“We want the lot. We want to become the big studio.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
If you expect cousins to become co-owners someday, don’t wait until they inherit to foster the relationship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
In the end we would often become impatient with him, and just tell him it was ‘for a blue reason.’
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
"If obtaining permanent residency becomes difficult, people will see less benefit in staying in Japan for the long term," he said, adding that the weak yen and low wages may also push people away.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
But then he literally creates a monster, and the whole enterprise becomes utterly reckless and irresponsible and all about his own sort of grandiosity.
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026
“The risk is: We’re excited, it doesn’t lift productivity immediately. We’re disappointed, we pull out. And then it becomes our problem.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
The research, led by Duke-NUS Medical School in collaboration with Singapore General Hospital and Cardiff University, identified a molecular system that becomes disrupted as muscles grow older.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
It is here that the story of the score sheet becomes cloudy.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
It was the capital of Thuringia, which in 1930 became the first German state to appoint a Nazi minister.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
In 2024, Sir Keir Starmer appointed him as national security adviser, a position he retained when Andy Burnham became prime minister.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
The resulting film became infamous almost as soon as it was released and has never been readily available in the U.S, at least not in its full form.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
That helped me kind of find a way forward in terms of what became a kind of epic narrative.
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026
The trouble was that the longer we stayed and the more comfortable we became, the more we did not want to leave.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
For Microsoft shareholders, three measures will help show whether those potential savings are becoming financial gains.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Under the direction of new CEO Josh D’Amaro, the company is embarking on a path toward becoming a “more efficient” and “much smaller organization,” leaning on further internal consolidation and more external deals.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
Within this range, vortices could flow freely along the steps without becoming trapped by imperfections in the material.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
An inning later, the Brewers went ahead to stay, becoming the first team ever with six comeback wins in their first eight postseason games.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
They were still walking downhill, and the ground was becoming wetter underfoot.
From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
