become
Americanverb (used without object)
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becomes,
present (3rd person singular)
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became,
past
-
become,
past participle
-
becoming
present participle
-
to come, change, or grow to be (as specified).
He became tired.
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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.
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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?
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(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
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are becomingprogressive
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is becomingprogressive
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have been becomingperfect progressive
-
has been becomingperfect progressive
Past
-
becamesimple
-
had becomeperfect
-
was becomingprogressive
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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:
And 10,000 is about the number of oak seedlings he’s entrusted to the hands of people who pledged to care for the tree that has become his mission and obsession.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
“They’ve become super popular, to the extent that they’ve been popping up in Japan and the U.K., where there are no Trader Joe’s,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
What to know: The director Mike Flanagan has become one of the pre-eminent Stephen King interpreters in recent years with his film adaptations of “Doctor Sleep” and “The Life of Chuck.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
When critical voices become part of the historical record, the truth can finally make it home.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
Her room at Carville has become her sanctuary, with its soft pastel green walls and sand-colored linoleum floor.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
“Why are people interested in this basic tote bag? I think it’s because it just becomes a viral sensation online, and it becomes a real collectible thing, and it becomes a must-have item.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
With each passing mile, our conversation becomes more philosophical.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
“It was designed to create for us what becomes an existential crisis in many cases,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
“As listening fragments, depth of fan connection arguably becomes more important to long-term artist careers than mass reach,” said Tatiana Cirisano, VP of music strategy at Midia Research.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
“The greatest basketball players in the world are great because they practice shooting and dribbling so much it becomes as natural as breathing,” she once told Sydney.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
Yet Huang’s growing role as statesman for AI accelerationism became evident this past week in numerous venues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
Reselling became a side hustle for many and a full-time job for some.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
Shortly after I graduated from college, the internet became a global presence, and claims on my attention and everyone else’s mushroomed into a multitude of distractions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
In 2005, Dasafo became the first unsigned artist to win the Mobo award for hip-hop act before he released an official album.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
He would frighten the dogs and take their hidden stashes now and then, but he didn’t harm them and we became accustomed to him hanging around.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
He has a former NFL executive interested in becoming president of business operations and has spoken with a former MLB executive about running stadium operations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
"Most individuals are unable to survive the British winter, but if temperatures continue to rise as a result of climate change, we may well see them becoming permanent residents," Benwell said.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
When Parsons asked him what he would do if he could be guaranteed success, he confessed his dream of becoming a Broadway producer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
Wall Street is gradually becoming more confident that talk of more artificial-intelligence guardrails won’t necessarily slow spending on chips and other hardware.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
I look down at my hand, which is becoming kind of a purple mess.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
