Pronunciation

How to pronounce “becomes

“becomes” is pronounced /bɪˈkʌmz/ (bi-KUMZ) in American English and /bɪkʌmz/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “kʌmz”.
The sound

Say “becomes” in 2 beats

Say it like this

becomes

/bɪˈkʌmz/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /bɪkʌmz/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

2 beats
  1. kʌmzkʌmzstress
IPA (American)
/bɪˈkʌmz/
IPA (British)
/bɪkʌmz/
Respelling
bi-KUMZ
Syllables
2 — bɪ-KɅMZ
Stress
Stress the second syllable: bɪ-KɅMZ. “kʌmz” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/bɪˈkʌmz/

British

/bɪkʌmz/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “becomes” means

  1. verb

    enter or assume a certain state or condition

    He became annoyed when he heard the bad news

  2. verb

    undergo a change or development

    The water turned into ice

  3. verb

    come into existence

    What becomes has duration

Say it in a sentence

The path becomes steep just past the old wooden bridge.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

becomes”, answered

How do you pronounce “becomes”?

“becomes” is pronounced /bɪˈkʌmz/ (bi-KUMZ) in American English and /bɪkʌmz/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “kʌmz”. Build it as bɪ-KɅMZ, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “becomes” have?

2: bɪ · kʌmz. The beat lands on the second, “kʌmz”.

Is “becomes” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /bɪˈkʌmz/ (bi-KUMZ); British English says /bɪkʌmz/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “becomes” mean?

As a verb: enter or assume a certain state or condition For example: “He became annoyed when he heard the bad news” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “becomes”?

Stress the second syllable: bɪ-KɅMZ. “kʌmz” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “becomes” and see every sound

Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.