become
Americanverb (used without object)
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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.
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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
-
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:
“As these off-balance sheet commitments become more frequent, larger, and more complex, it is becoming increasingly difficult for investors to assess companies’ total potential leverage,” Morgan Stanley accounting analysts wrote in April.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
The demand for formal apologies, debt relief and financial compensation from nations and institutions that benefited from slavery has become increasingly forceful.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
There’s no question more young people are experiencing mental troubles, as smartphones and social media have become ubiquitous.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
They can then be resold after five years, which has become a lucrative business.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
If he’d left without it, what would have become of his plan?
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
But it becomes much more challenging as the state gets closer to its 2045 target, when the entire grid must be clean.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
“If you boil it down like that,” Infante said, “the intuitive idea that, ‘Oh, zoomers just don’t want to drink,’ becomes very hard to defend.”
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
The album becomes everything the musician and his label could hope for.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Risk capacity becomes the focus, because that’s how much risk your portfolio can handle before potential losses would be a problem.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
The air becomes thick, a cloud of black, and I can no longer breathe.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
Awoniyi became Forest's then record signing when he joined from Union Berlin in 2022 for £17.2m.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
He was a financial adviser before he became an influencer seven years ago, and now he has more than 3 million followers and 50 million likes across his videos.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
“It became much bigger than I anticipated, really,” she says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
John Adams became the first president to live in the still-unfinished building when he moved in the following year.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
The gentle tugging became a sharp, southerly yank.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
“As these off-balance sheet commitments become more frequent, larger, and more complex, it is becoming increasingly difficult for investors to assess companies’ total potential leverage,” Morgan Stanley accounting analysts wrote in April.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Here, grated yellow summer squash and onion spend the better part of an hour over low heat, slowly becoming soft, sweet and jammy.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
As people around the world live longer and the proportion of older adults grows, age-related conditions such as dementia are becoming increasingly common.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Abdul El-Sayed made history this month in Michigan by becoming the first Muslim nominated by the Democratic Party to run for the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
We're all one awful day away from becoming the world’s worst nightmare.''
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
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.
