Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🔄 To change into ✨ To suit
to become

to become

∞ 1.0
Start to change into a different state or role
  • verb
  • /bɪˈkʌm/
translation icon : convertirse en
  • After years of study, she finally decided to become a doctor.
  • become more
  • become clear
  • become aware

And then I came and I became not sick at all.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • No one has ever become poor by giving.

  • Here we all are about to become Harvard graduates.

  • For today, the Try guys become the die guys.

  • This little space here has become my best friend.

  • Have you ever considered becoming... a teacher?

    Theater Camp (2023)

  • Do I cross that line and become an advocate?

  • It takes a while to become real full friends.

  • The licensing of these fishing vessels would become a source of income for their government.

    Academic text (2017)

  • So...when did you decide to become a Noble Man?

    The Wrath of Becky (2023)

  • Encourage students to develop their own word lists and become independent vocabulary learners over time.

    Academic text (2015)

Synonyms

to get
vsto become
∞ 3.5

To experience something unpleasant, for example punishment or criticism

describes starting to be in a new role or condition rather than suffering events
to go
vsto become
∞ 1.8

To become a particular state, often unpleasant

is neutral about outcome, covering starting any new state without judgment
to change
vsto become
∞ 1.0

To make something or someone different

is used mainly for starting to be in a different state, not all alterations
to turn
vsto become
∞ 1.0

Change into something different

focuses on beginning to be in a new state rather than causing change
to grow
vsto become
∞ 1.0

Become gradually a certain way, for example feeling or weather

can apply to sudden or slow starts, not only gradual developments
to turn into
vsto become
890 2.2

To change into something different or make something change

is more general, covering any start of a new state rather than full transformation
to transition
vsto become
88 3.8

To change from one state or activity to another

emphasizes the start of a new state rather than the whole ongoing process
to transmute
vsto become
8 7.5

To change something into a different form or material

is broader, applying to any start of a new state not only deep change

Antonyms

to remain
∞ 1.0

To stay in the same place or state and not change

Idioms

to become one flesh
  • Literature
2 8.4

To join fully as a married couple, sharing their bodies and lives

to become a leper
  • Slur
9.6

To be avoided by other people because of something bad you did

Phrasal Verbs

to become of
58 4.6

What happens to a person or thing in the future

to become popular
22 2.4

Many people start to like or use something

to become extinct
15 4.5

Stop existing as a kind of animal, plant, or language

to become one with
13 7.3

To feel completely joined with something or someone, often in a calm way

to become prickly
7.6

To react angrily or feel hurt when criticized

to become flat
5.4

Lose their bubbles and taste less fresh

How Changed

to transmute
8 7.5
to become
∞ 1.0
to turn into
890 2.2

Surface Forms

become infinitive
becoming present participle
becomes third person singular
became past
become past participle

Morphology

become = come (transparent) = be + come

The core sense 'to start to be / change into' corresponds directly to 'be' + 'come' (i.e., 'come to be'), so a learner familiar with 'come' can usually infer this meaning.

Etymology

Become comes from old parts be-, a small word part meaning 'to' or 'about', and come, meaning 'to come' or 'arrive', so it literally means 'to come to be'. That's why become means to start to be or to change into something.