become

English Online Dictionary. What means become‎? What does become mean?

English

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /bɪˈkʌm/, /bəˈkʌm/

  (Northern England) IPA^(key): /bɪˈkʊm/, /bəˈkʊm/

• (US) IPA^(key): /bɪˈkʌm/, /biˈkʌm/, /bəˈkʌm/
• Rhymes: -ʌm
• Hyphenation: be‧come

Verb

become (third-person singular simple present becomes, present participle becoming, simple past became, past participle become or (rare, dialectal) becomen)

1. (copulative) begin to be; turn into. [from 12th c.]

   Synonyms: get, turn, go
2. (intransitive, archaic outside become of) To come about; happen; come into being; arise. [from 12th c.]
4. (transitive) To be proper for; to beseem. [from 13th c.]
   • 1892, Ambrose Bierce, “The Applicant,” in The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume II: In the Midst of Life (Tales of Soldiers and Civilians), New York: Gordian Press, 1966,^[2]

     He was hatted, booted, overcoated, and umbrellaed, as became a person who was about to expose himself to the night and the storm on an errand of charity […]
5. (transitive) Of an adornment, piece of clothing etc.: to look attractive on (someone). [from 14th c.]

6. (intransitive, obsolete) To arrive, come (to a place). [9th–18th c.]

Usage notes

• In Early Modern English, the second-person informal singular indicative verb forms used with thou were becomest in the present and becamest in the past tenses. Similarly, becometh was used as a third-person singular indicative present form.
• Also in Early Modern English, to become (and some other intransitive verbs like to come and to go) used the auxiliary be rather than have for perfect aspect constructions. In current usage, to have is standard.

• These forms and uses persisted into Modern English in a few archaic, dialectal, poetic, etc. contexts.

Synonyms

• (to be suitable for): befit, suit

Derived terms

Translations

References

• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “become”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “become”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• The Dictionary of the Scots Language
• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “become”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.