Pronunciation
- (British) IPA: /bɪˈkʌm/, /bəˈkʌm/
- (Northern England) IPA: /bɪˈkʊm/, /bəˈkʊm/
- (America) IPA: /bəˈkʌm/, /biˈkʌm/
become (becomes, present participle becoming; past became, past participle become)
- (intransitive, obsolete) To arrive, come (to a place). [9th-18thc.]
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/MaloryWks2/1:20.2?rgn=div2;view=fulltext chapter ii], in Le Morte Darthur, book XVIII:
- & thenne the noble knyghte sire Launcelot departed with ryghte heuy chere sodenly / that none erthely creature wyste of hym / nor where he was become / but sir Bors
- c. 1591–1592, William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act IV, scene iv]:
- But, madam, where is Warwick then become?
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/MaloryWks2/1:20.2?rgn=div2;view=fulltext chapter ii], in Le Morte Darthur, book XVIII:
- (copulative) To come about; happen; come into being; arise. [from 12thc.]
- What became of him after he was let go?
- It hath becomen so that many a man had to sterve.
- (copulative) begin to be; turn into. [from 12thc.]
- Synonyms: get, turn, go
- She became a doctor when she was 25.
- The weather will become cold after the sun goes down.
(transitive) To be proper for; to beseem. [from 13thc.] - 1610-11?, Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act III, scene ii:
- Ay, lord, she will become thy bed, I warrant,
- And bring thee forth brave brood.
- 1892, Ambrose Bierce, “The Applicant,” in The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume II: In the Midst of Life (Tales of Soldiers and Civilians), New York: Gordian Press, 1966,
- He was hatted, booted, overcoated, and umbrellaed, as became a person who was about to expose himself to the night and the storm on an errand of charity […]
- 1930, Duff Cooper, Talleyrand, Folio Society, 2010, p.7:
- His ordination […] enabled him to be independent of his parents, and to afford a manner of living which became his rank rather than his calling.
- 1610-11?, Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act III, scene ii:
- (transitive) Of an adornment, piece of clothing etc.: to look attractive on (someone). [from 14thc.]
- That dress really becomes you.
- French: devenir
- German: werden
- Italian: diventare
- Portuguese: tornar-se, virar, transformar-se em, ficar
- Russian: станови́ться
- Spanish: volver, hacer, convertir, llegar a ser, devenir
- French: aller bien
- German: stehen
- Portuguese: cair bem em
- Russian: идти́
- Spanish: quedar bien
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