become

becomeverb

1. start to bestart to be something, or start to have a particular quality

   linking [L] verb + noun complement [V + noun] verb + adjective [V + adj]

   • She became a doctor after years of hard study. V + noun
   • The sky became dark before the storm. V + adj
   • It's becoming harder to find a good job. V + adj
   • He became famous almost overnight. V + adj

   Collocations

   phrase become famous, become popular, become clear, become difficult

   verb + noun become a doctor, become a teacher, become a member, become a problem

   Synonyms turn (informal; especially for colors and for sudden changes: turn red, turn sour); get (informal; usually with an adjective: get tired, get dark); grow (for a slow, gradual change: grow old, grow tired of something); go; run; come; fall

   Compare remain (remain means stay the same; become means change)

   For translators (sense 1)

   Grammar trap Become is followed directly by a noun or an adjective, never by as or to: become a doctor, not become as a doctor or become to be a doctor.

2. happen tohappen to someone or something

   intransitive [I] verb + preposition + object [V + prep + obj]

   • What became of the old house on the corner? V + prep + obj
   • No one knows what will become of the company. V + prep + obj
   • I often wonder what became of my old classmates. V + prep + obj

   Collocations

   phrase what became of, what will become of

   Synonyms happen (happen does not take of; this sense of become always asks about a particular person or thing)

   For translators (sense 2)

   Meaning across languages Used mainly in the question what became/will become of...?, asking what happened, or will happen, to someone or something that is no longer present or no longer the same.