become
/bɪˈkʌm/
"become" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“become” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #381 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #381
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - begin to be; turn into (often with permanent states).
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | become |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /bɪˈkʌm/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #381 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “become” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for become is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /bɪˈkʌm/. Corpus data places it at rank #381 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for become, with forms such as "bbecome", "bceome", and "beccome". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "biome", "before", "becomes", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: A compound of the sources of be- + come. From Middle English becomen, bicumen, from Old English becuman (“to come (to), approach, arrive, enter, meet with, fall in with; happen, befall; befit”), from Proto-Germanic *bikwemaną (“to come around, come about, c… The correct English form is become, spelled B-E-C-O-M-E.
Definition
- 1begin to be; turn into (often with permanent states).
- 2To come about; happen; come into being; arise.
- 3To be appropriate for.
- 4Of an adornment, piece of clothing etc.: to look attractive on (someone).
- 5To arrive, come (to a place).
Etymology
A compound of the sources of be- + come. From Middle English becomen, bicumen, from Old English becuman (“to come (to), approach, arrive, enter, meet with, fall in with; happen, befall; befit”), from Proto-Germanic *bikwemaną (“to come around, come about, come across, come by”), equivalent to be- (“about, around”) + come. Cognate with Scots becum (“to come, arrive, reach a destination”), North Frisian bekommen, bykommen (“to come by, obtain, receive”), West Frisian bikomme (“to come by, obtain, receive”), Dutch bekomen (“to come by, obtain, receive”), German bekommen (“to get, receive, obtain”), Swedish bekomma (“to receive, concern”), Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐌵𐌹𐌼𐌰𐌽 (biqiman, “to come upon one, befall”). Sense of "befit, suit" due to influence from Middle English cweme, icweme, see queem. Displaced Old English weorþan.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: bbecome,bceome,beccome,becmoe,becoem,becomme,beocme,ebcome
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of become - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “become”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-E-C-O-M-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /bɪˈkʌm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “biome” - see the side-by-side comparison. become vs biome
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.