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become - 6 dictionary results

be⋅come

  [bi-kuhm] verb, be⋅came, be⋅come, be⋅com⋅ing.
Use become in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to come, change, or grow to be (as specified): He became tired.
2. to come into being.
–verb (used with object)
3. to be attractive on; befit in appearance; look well on: That gown becomes you.
4. to be suitable or necessary to the dignity, situation, or responsibility of: conduct that becomes an officer.
—Idiom
5. become of, to happen to; be the fate of: What will become of him?
Origin:
bef. 900; ME becumen, OE becuman to come about, happen; c. D bekomen, G bekommen, Goth biqiman. See be-, come
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To become
be·come   (bĭ-kŭm')   
v.   be·came (-kām'), be·come, be·com·ing, be·comes

v.   intr.
To grow or come to be: became more knowledgeable; will become clearer in the morning.
v.   tr.
  1. To be appropriate or suitable to: "It would not become me . . . to interfere with parties" (Jonathan Swift).
  2. To show to advantage; look good with: The new suit becomes you.
Phrasal Verb(s):
become ofTo be the fate of; happen to: What has become of the old garden?

[Middle English bicomen, from Old English becuman; see gwā- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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 Come.]

1. To pass from one state to another; to enter into some state or condition, by a change from another state, or by assuming or receiving new properties or qualities, additional matter, or a new character.

The Lord God . . . breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. --Gen. ii. 7.

That error now which is become my crime. --Milton.

2. To come; to get. [Obs.]

But, madam, where is Warwick then become! --Shak.

To become of, to be the present state or place of; to be the fate of; to be the end of; to be the final or subsequent condition of.

What is then become of so huge a multitude? --Sir W. Raleigh.

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.

It becomes me so to speak of so excellent a poet. --Dryden.

I have known persons so anxious to have their dress become them, as to convert it, at length, into their proper self, and thus actually to become the dress. --Coleridge.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : become
Spanish: volverse, ponerse, convertirse,
German: werden,
Japanese: ～になる
More Translations »

become 
O.E. becuman "happen, come about," from P.Gmc. *bikweman "become" (cf. Ger. bekommen, Goth. biquiman); it drove out O.E. weorðan. First record of becoming "looking well" is from 1565, from sense of "be fitting" found c.1230.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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become

In addition to the idiom beginning with become, also see idioms beginning with get.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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