become

become
verb /bI'kVm/ past tense became /bi'keIm/ past participle become
1 (linking verb) to begin to be something, or to develop in a particular way: He became King at the age of 17. | After the death of her father she became the richest woman in the world. | The weather became warmer. | We soon became acclimatized to the warmer weather. | These constant delays are becoming a bit of a bore. | She became increasingly anxious about her husband's strange behaviour. | He withdrew from the competition when it became clear that he stood no chance of winning.
2 (transitive not in progressive) formal to suit someone or be suitable for them: This sort of behaviour hardly becomes a person in your position.
3 what has become of...?/whatever will become of...? used to ask what has happened to someone, especially when you have not seen them for a long time, or what will happen to someone that you are worried about: Whatever will become of Sam when his wife dies?
USAGE NOTE: BECOME WORD CHOICE become, get, turn, go, come Become and get can be used with most types of adjective to describe changes in people and things. Become is more common in writing, and get in spoken English, especially where a quick change is involved: The sky became/got cloudy. | Crime is becoming more widespread. | It became clear that he was lying. | It gets dark early now. | I'm getting wet standing here. | Your dinner's getting cold. When things change colour, turn can be used, or less formally go (especially if the change does not last long). Compare: Jonathan turned/went pale when he heard the news. | It's that time of year when the leaves go/turn golden. Go can also be used where someone's mind or body changes for the worse: He went crazy/blind/deaf/bald (but He fell sick/ill). Go is used in a similar meaning with some things: The meat's gone bad. | Everything went wrong/haywire. But in other situations turn is used: The milk's turned/gone sour. | The situation turned nasty. Come is used only in very few expressions where something gets better: It came right in the end. | All my dreams have come true (NOT become/get here). Otherwise people use become or get again: He eventually got better. GRAMMAR Become is never followed by an infinitive though come can be: After a while I came to like Chicago (NOT ...became to like...).

Longman dictionary of contemporary English. 2004.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Become — Be*come , v. i. [imp. {Became}; p. p. {Become}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Becoming}.] [OE. bicumen, becumen, AS. becuman to come to, to happen; akin to D. bekomen, OHG.a piqu[ e]man, Goth. biquiman to come upon, G. bekommen to get, suit. See {Be }, and… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Become — Be*come , v. i. [imp. {Became}; p. p. {Become}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Becoming}.] [OE. bicumen, becumen, AS. becuman to come to, to happen; akin to D. bekomen, OHG.a piqu[ e]man, Goth. biquiman to come upon, G. bekommen to get, suit. See {Be }, and… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Become — Be*come , v. t. To suit or be suitable to; to be congruous with; to befit; to accord with, in character or circumstances; to be worthy of, or proper for; to cause to appear well; said of persons and things. [1913 Webster] It becomes me so to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • become — verb (became; come; coming) Etymology: Middle English, to come to, become, from Old English becuman, from be + cuman to come Date: before 12th century intransitive verb 1. a. to come into …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • become of — {v. phr.} To happen to; befall. * /What will become of the children, now that both parents are in jail?/ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • become of — {v. phr.} To happen to; befall. * /What will become of the children, now that both parents are in jail?/ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • Become What You Are — Studio album by Juliana Hatfield Three Released August 3, 1993 …   Wikipedia

  • Become You — Infobox Album Name = Become You Type = Studio album Artist = Indigo Girls Released = March 12, 2002 Recorded = 2002(?) Genre = Folk rock Length = 48:11 Label = Epic Records Producer = Peter Collins Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|4|5… …   Wikipedia

  • Become the Media — Infobox Album | Name = Become The Media Type = Album Artist = Jello Biafra Released = October 17, 2000 Recorded = January 27, 2000 September 23, 2000 Genre = spoken word Length = 161:10 Label = Alternative Tentacles Producer = Jello Biafra… …   Wikipedia

  • become of — phrasal to happen to < wondering whatever became of old friends > …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • To become of — Become Be*come , v. i. [imp. {Became}; p. p. {Become}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Becoming}.] [OE. bicumen, becumen, AS. becuman to come to, to happen; akin to D. bekomen, OHG.a piqu[ e]man, Goth. biquiman to come upon, G. bekommen to get, suit. See {Be } …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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