Become

• POS: Verb (usu participle)
• HYPHEN: be=come

CIDE DICTIONARY

Become, v. i. [OE. bicumen, becumen, AS. becuman to come to, to happen; akin to D. bekomen, OHG.a piquëman, Goth. biquiman to come upon, G. bekommen to get, suit. See Be-, and Come.].

•  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.  [1913 Webster]

  "The Lord God . . . breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."  [1913 Webster]

  "That error now which is become my crime."  [1913 Webster]
•  To come; to get.  [1913 Webster]

  "But, madam, where is Warwick then become!"  [1913 Webster]

  "What is then become of so huge a multitude?"  [1913 Webster]

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.

Become, 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 speak of so excellent a poet."  [1913 Webster]
"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."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Become, v. (past became; past part. become)
1 intr. (foll. by compl.) begin to be (became president; will become famous).
2 tr. a look well on; suit (blue becomes him). b befit (it ill becomes you to complain).
3 intr. (as becoming adj.) a flattering the appearance. b suitable; decorous.

Idiom

become of happen to (what will become of me?).

Derivative

becomingly adj. becomingness n.

Etymology

OE becuman f. Gmc: cf. BE-, COME

THESAURUS

Become

adorn, agree with, alter into, arise, assimilate to, be born, be bound, be changed, be converted into, be obligated, be obliged, become of, befit, behoove, beseem, break out, bring to, burst forth, change, change into, change over, come, come forth, come of, come out, come over, come round to, come to be, convert, crop up, do over, enhance, erupt, evolve into, fall into, fit, get, get to be, go, go with, grace, grow, have origin, irrupt, issue, issue forth, lapse into, make, make over, melt into, mount, naturalize, open into, originate, owe it to, pass into, reconvert, reduce to, render, resolve into, reverse, ripen into, rise, run, run into, settle into, shift, shift into, soar, spring up, suit, switch, switch over, take birth, take rise, transform, turn, turn back, turn into, turn to, wax

ROGET THESAURUS

Become

Existence

VB exist, be, have being, subsist, live, breathe, stand, obtain, be the case, occur, have place, prevail, find oneself, pass the time, vegetate, consist in, lie in, be comprised in, be contained in, be constituted by, come into existence, arise, come forth, become, bring into existence, abide, continue, endure, last, remain, stay.

Conversion

VB be converted into, become, get, wax, come to, turn to, turn into, evolve into, develop into, turn out, lapse, shift, run into, fall into, pass into, slide into, glide into, grow into, ripen into, open into, resolve itself into, settle into, merge into, emerge as, melt, grow, come round to, mature, mellow, assume the form of, assume the shape of, assume the state of, assume the nature of, assume the character of, illapse, begin a new phase, assume a new phase, undergo a change, convert into, resolve into, make, render, mold, form, remodel, new model, refound, reform, reorganize, assimilate to, bring to, reduce to.

Ornament

VB ornament, overlay with ornament, overcharge, smell of the lamp, ornament, embellish, enrich, decorate, adorn, bead, beautify, adonize, smarten, furbish, polish, gild, varnish, whitewash, enamel, japan, lacquer, paint, grain, garnish, trim, dizen, bedizen, prink, prank, trick out, fig out, deck, bedeck, dight, bedight, array, begawd, titivate, dress, dress up, spangle, bespangle, powder, embroider, work, chase, emboss, fret, emblazon, illuminate, illustrate, become.

Duty

VB be the duty of, be incumbent, on, be responsible, behoove, become, befit, beseem, belong to, pertain to, fall to one's lot, devolve on, lie upon, lie on one's head, lie at one's door, rest with, rest on the shoulders of, take upon oneself, be bound to, become bound to, be sponsor for, become sponsor for, incur a responsibility, be under an obligation, stand under an obligation, lie under an obligation, have to answer for, owe to it oneself, impose a duty enjoin, require, exact, bind, bind over, saddle with, prescribe, assign, call upon, look to, oblige, enter upon a duty, perform a duty, observe a duty, fulfill a duty, discharge a duty, adhere to a duty, acquit oneself of a duty, satisfy a duty, enter upon an obligation, perform an obligation, observe an obligation, fulfill an obligation, discharge an obligation, adhere to an obligation, acquit oneself of an obligation, satisfy an obligation, act one's part, redeem one's pledge, do justice to, be at one's post, do duty, do one's duty, be on one's good behavior, mind one's P's and Q's.