Become

v. i. [imp. BECAME; p. p. BECOME; p. pr. & vb. n. BECOMING.] [Prefix be and come, q. v.; A-S. becuman, to come to, to happen; D. bekomen, Ger. bekommen, O. H. Ger. piquĕman, Goth. beqviman. Cf. A-S. cweman, gecweman, to please, satisfy, that is, to suit or be agreeable, A-S. cuman, to come, O. H. Ger. queman, chueman; Goth. qviman, to come.] To pass from one state to another; to enter into some state or condition, by a change from another state or condition, 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.

I rue that error now which is become my crime. Milton.

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

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

Synonyms— To BECOME, GROW. To become marks progress and transition into some other state. Thus, we may say, though formerly rich, he has now become poor, i. e., has come to be so; it is cold, and is becoming colder. To grow is to become, by a gradual process — an idea not necessarily attached to “become.” A man may become vile and degraded at once, by some single act; or he may grow, by vicious indulgence, into a low and degraded character.