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
-
(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
-
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:
Feinseth thinks Microsoft’s move could help reopen the market for more hyperscaler debt offerings, but as investors become more choosy, companies with lower credit ratings could struggle to raise additional capital.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
Taiwan has now become too important to a leading U.S. industry for Washington to ignore.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
Hammond is probably best-known for his time on Top Gear, which was revived in 2002, and went on to become one of the BBC's flagship shows at the time.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
One could be forgiven if memories of the cool-internet era have grown fuzzier over the years, now that the web has become a self-regulating machine in an indomitable surveillance system and all.
From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2026
His beloved swimming hole had become a bit of a deathtrap: twice as deep and roaring by at a thunderous speed.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
With Bannau Brycheiniog - Brecon Beacons - in his back garden, Hammond told the High Performance Podcast he had taken up open water swimming as he becomes "braver" than he has ever been.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
It becomes harder for small-market teams to hang onto beloved young talent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
The journey begins in Phase 1, high above Earth, where the atmosphere becomes dense enough for the incoming rock to generate a shock wave ahead of it.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026
“How people interact with what’s in front of them often becomes part of the conversation,” she says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
The crowd of people in front of me becomes a living wall.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
In 2025, she became the CEO of eMed Population Health, a digital business-to-business health platform focused on access to GLP-1s for employers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
As well as suffering with neurological fatigue, Saskia said she developed a form of obsessive compulsive disorder and became sensitive to loud noises and bright lights.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
Their analysis provided a mathematical framework for evaluating the stability of the standard model and, more broadly, Friedmann spacetimes during the matter-dominated era of the early universe, when matter became more influential than radiation.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026
As millions of people quit one job for another, lured by better opportunities and bigger salaries in an era of high inflation, the period became known as the “great resignation.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
The moon and the hills became a hazy blur.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
“The world’s biggest companies are becoming larger,” he said during an investor call.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
Is the Championship becoming ever-more competitive as well-run clubs like Lincoln make an impact?
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
Then I learned about walking therapy, or “walk-and-talks,” a mental health modality that’s becoming increasingly popular.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
For others, they’re becoming a way to afford basics.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
I’d heard Yao and Gideon talk about becoming boat masters themselves one day.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
