become

/biˈkʌm/

/bɪˈkʌm/

Other forms: became; becomes; becoming

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."

Definitions of become

1. verb

   come into existence
   “What becomes has duration”

   types:

   come, occur

   come to one's mind; suggest itself

   root

   come into existence, originate

   form, spring, take form, take shape

   develop into a distinctive entity

   arise, develop, grow, originate, rise, spring up, uprise

   come into existence; take on form or shape

   arise, bob up, come up

   originate or come into being

   make

   be or be capable of being changed or made into

   regenerate

   be formed or shaped anew

   resurge

   rise again

   come forth, emerge

   happen or occur as a result of something

   come, follow

   to be the product or result

   swell, well up

   come up (as of feelings and thoughts, or other ephemeral things)

   head

   take its rise
2. verb

   undergo a change or development
   “Her former friend became her worst enemy”

   synonyms: turn

   change state, turn

   undergo a transformation or a change of position or action

   turn

   cause to change or turn into something different;assume new characteristics

   types:

   boil down, come down, reduce

   be the essential element

   choke, suffocate

   become stultified, suppressed, or stifled

   nucleate

   form into a nucleus

   add up, amount, come

   develop into

   aggregate

   amount in the aggregate to

   type of:

   metamorphose, transform, transmute

   change in outward structure or looks
3. verb

   enter or assume a certain state or condition
   “He became annoyed when he heard the bad news”

   synonyms: get, go, wax

   types:

   sober, sober up

   become sober after excessive alcohol consumption

   sober, sober up

   become more realistic

   work

   arrive at a certain condition through repeated motion

   take effect

   go into effect or become effective or operative

   run

   change from one state to another

   take

   be seized or affected in a specified way

   break

   come into being

   settle

   become resolved, fixed, established, or quiet

   type of:

   change state, turn

   undergo a transformation or a change of position or action
4. verb

   enhance the appearance of
   “Mourning becomes Electra”

   synonyms: suit

   type of:

   beautify, embellish, fancify, prettify

   make more beautiful