become
/bɪˈkʌm/
"become" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“become” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #381. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #381
- frequency rank, English
- 4,121
- “B” headwords
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - begin to be; turn into (often with permanent states).
Corpus desk
Index EN-become · become · English
become · rank #381 · 8 variants · 4 confusables
- FREQ-CORE #381
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
- VAR-MID 8 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,121
- PHOTO-FINISH single
Nearest frequency peer: single (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “become”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- mind
mind
99,623 corpus weight
- often
often
99,622 corpus weight
- single
single
99,621 corpus weight
- become
become
99,620 corpus weight
- body
body
99,619 corpus weight
- coming
coming
99,618 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “become” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 8 spelling variants around become (IPA /bɪˈkʌm/), averb. Corpus frequency is #381 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
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).
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how become appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Near-synonyms: get, turn, go, come, fall, grow, wax
She became a doctor when she was 25.
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
How do you spell "become"?
What does "become" mean?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "become", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "become". Here's where to go from here.
- "become" maps to 4 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "biome". View pair
- 8 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #381 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "B" letter cohort. B–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.