become

  • 1Become — 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

  • 2Become — 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

  • 3become — [bē kum′, bikum′] vi. became, become, becoming [ME bicumen < OE becuman: see BE & COME] 1. to come to be [to become ill] 2. to grow to be; change or develop into by growth [the tadpole becomes a frog] vt …

    English World dictionary

  • 4Become — 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

  • 5become — ► VERB (past became; past part. become) 1) begin to be. 2) turn into. 3) (become of) happen to. 4) (of clothing) look good when worn by (someone). 5) be appropriate to …

    English terms dictionary

  • 6become — (v.) O.E. becuman happen, come about, also meet with, arrive, from P.Gmc. *bikweman become (Cf. Du. bekomen, O.H.G. biqueman obtain, Ger. bekommen, Goth. biquiman). A compound of BE (Cf. be ) and COME (Cf …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 7become — [v1] evolve into alter to, assume form of, be converted to, be reduced to, be reformed, be remodeled, be transformed into, change into, come, come to be, convert, develop into, emerge as, eventually be, grow into, incline, mature, metamorphose,… …

    New thesaurus

  • 8become — I (arise) verb befall, come about, come into being, come into existence, commence, ensue, germinate, happen, materialize, occur, proceed, result, succeed II (develop) verb adorn, alter, arise, befit, behoove, benefit, beseem, change into, come to …

    Law dictionary

  • 9become — 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… …

    Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • 10become — be|come W1S1 [bıˈkʌm] v past tense became [ ˈkeım] past participle become [: Old English; Origin: becuman to come to, become , from cuman to come ] 1.) [linking verb] to begin to be something, or to develop in a particular way ▪ George became… …

    Dictionary of contemporary English