BECOME (became)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: became   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does become mean? 

• BECOME (verb)
  The verb BECOME has 4 senses:

1. enter or assume a certain state or condition

2. undergo a change or development

3. come into existence

4. enhance the appearance of

  Familiarity information: BECOME used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BECOME (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they become    ... he / she / it becomes   
Past simple: became   
Past participle: become   
-ing form: becoming   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Enter or assume a certain state or condition

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

become; get; go

Context example:

Get going!

Hypernyms (to "become" is one way to...):

change state; turn (undergo a transformation or a change of position or action)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "become"):

sober; sober up (become more realistic)

work (arrive at a certain condition through repeated motion)

take effect (go into effect or become effective or operative)

run (change from one state to another)

take (be seized or affected in a specified way)

break (come into being)

settle (become resolved, fixed, established, or quiet)

sober; sober up (become sober after excessive alcohol consumption)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Something ----s Adjective/Noun
Somebody ----s Adjective
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

John will become angry

Sense 2

Meaning:

Undergo a change or development

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

become; turn

Context example:

He turned traitor

Hypernyms (to "become" is one way to...):

metamorphose; transform; transmute (change in outward structure or looks)

Verb group:

change state; turn (undergo a transformation or a change of position or action)

turn (cause to change or turn into something different;assume new characteristics)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "become"):

boil down; come down; reduce (be the essential element)

choke; suffocate (become stultified, suppressed, or stifled)

nucleate (form into a nucleus)

add up; amount; come (develop into)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Come into existence

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

What becomes has duration

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "become"):

root (come into existence, originate)

make (be or be capable of being changed or made into)

arise; bob up; come up (originate or come into being)

arise; develop; grow; originate; rise; spring up; uprise (come into existence; take on form or shape)

form; spring; take form; take shape (develop into a distinctive entity)

come; occur (come to one's mind; suggest itself)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 4

Meaning:

Enhance the appearance of

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

become; suit

Context example:

This behavior doesn't suit you!

Hypernyms (to "become" is one way to...):

beautify; embellish; fancify; prettify (make more beautiful)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

 Context examples 

An abnormal lesion or growth may be cancer, premalignant (likely to become cancer), or benign (not cancer).

(Abnormal, NCI Dictionary)

Life in general might still be sacred, but life in the particular case of Thomas Mugridge had become very profane indeed.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

When an area of your body becomes infected, your body's immune system tries to fight the infection.

(Abscess, NIH)

The process of making or becoming an acid.

(Acidification, NCI Dictionary)

A. defectiva is normally a commensal organism in the oral, genitourinary, and intestinal floras but may become pathogenic in response to underlying disease.

(Abiotrophia defectiva, NCI Thesaurus)

Based on a 2016 study using data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, scientists speculated that lava would flow freely in lakes on the starlit side and become hardened on the face of perpetual darkness.

(Lava or Not, Exoplanet 55 Cancri e Likely to have Atmosphere, NASA)

Become less in amount or intensity.

(Abate, NCI Thesaurus)

A. anitratus is thought to be a commensal organism of the skin but may become pathogenic in patients with underlying conditions.

(Acinetobacter anitratus, NCI Thesaurus)

It struck me as curious that the moment she became conscious she pressed the garlic flowers close to her.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

A thick, scaly patch of skin that may become cancer.

(Actinic (Solar) Keratosis, NCI Dictionary)