BECOME


Meaning of BECOME in English

bə̇ˈkəm, bē- verb

( be·came -kām ; become ; becoming ; becomes )

Etymology: Middle English becomen, from Old English becoman, becuman to come to, approach, happen, befit (akin to Old High German biqueman to come to, meet, Gothic biquiman to come to) from be- + coman, cuman to come — more at come

intransitive verb

1.

a. obsolete

(1) : come

(2) : go

where is Warwick then become — Shakespeare

b.

(1) : to come to exist or occur

(2) : to emerge as an entity : grow to manifest a certain essence, nature, development, or significance

we do not know our own identity since we are always in a state of becoming — J.D.Adams

what becomes has duration — A.N.Whitehead

c. archaic : to come to experience — used with an infinitive

2.

a. : to pass from a previous state or condition and come to be : grow or change into being through taking on a new character or characteristic

as the pain becomes more intense

that they might rest and become warm — T.B.Costain

b. : to take on a new role, essence, or nature and come to be

he became the nation's first president

his former foes becoming loyal allies

materials formerly wasted becoming profitable by-products

c. : to come to be — used as an auxiliary in passive constructions

she became influenced by these ideas

men becoming hurt in the battle

3.

a. : happen

it sometimes becomes that these accounts are misleading

b. : to ensue by way of fate, destiny, or disposition — usually used with of

he wondered what had become of his boyhood friends

investigating what became of the missing ship

transitive verb

1.

a. : to accord with : be suitable to : lack jarring contrast to or incongruity with

rough clothes becoming their lowly condition

brash confidence ill becoming his record of failures

b. : to suit with propriety : be quite proper for

dignity becoming a lord

the humility that becomes the amateur — B.N.Cardozo

2. : grace:

a. : to adorn or look well on while befitting or according with

a hat that becomes her

b. : to occupy, use, or wear with suitable bearing or pleasing grace

he becomes his high office

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.