behavior
Americannoun
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manner of behaving or acting.
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Psychology, Animal Behavior.
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observable activity in a human or animal.
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the aggregate of responses to internal and external stimuli.
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a stereotyped, species-specific activity, as a courtship dance or startle reflex.
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Often behaviors. a behavior pattern.
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the action or reaction of any material under given circumstances.
the behavior of tin under heat.
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The actions displayed by an organism in response to its environment.
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One of these actions. Certain animal behaviors (such as nest building) result from instinct, while others (such as hunting) must be learned.
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The manner in which a physical system, such as a gas, subatomic particle, or ecosystem, acts or functions, especially under specified conditions.
Synonym Usage
Behavior, conduct, deportment, comportment refer to one's actions before or toward others, especially on a particular occasion. Behavior refers to actions usually measured by commonly accepted standards: His behavior at the party was childish. Conduct refers to actions viewed collectively, especially as measured by an ideal standard: Conduct is judged according to principles of ethics. Deportment is behavior related to a code or to an arbitrary standard: Deportment is guided by rules of etiquette. The teacher gave Susan a mark of B in deportment. Comportment is behavior as viewed from the standpoint of one's management of one's own actions: His comportment was marked by a quiet assurance.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of behavior
First recorded in 1375–1425; behave ( def. ) + -ior (on model of havior, variant of havor, from Middle French (h)avoir “a having,” ultimately from Latin habēre “to have”); replacing late Middle English behavoure, behaver; see -or 1 ( def. )
Explanation
Behavior refers to how you conduct yourself. Generally, it’s wise to engage in good behavior, even if you're really bored. The noun behavior is a spin-off of the verb behave. Get rid of the be in behave and you're left with have, which makes sense: you could say that to behave is to "have" or "own" yourself — to control yourself. There's also a broader definition of behavior, which is basically anything any living thing does in any situation. Brushing your teeth? Behavior. Scratching your nose? Behavior. Eating a large antelope because you are a lion and you're hungry? Also behavior.
Vocabulary lists containing behavior
"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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Growth, Development and Reproduction of Organisms - Middle School
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Growth, Development and Reproduction of Organisms - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He managed to get through his entire book tour, including a stint on “The View,” without clips of his awkward behavior going viral.
From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2026
As robotaxis scale, cities and law enforcement agencies are cracking down on bad behavior.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
The political concern is visible in many companies’ behavior.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
That shift was accompanied by a major change in the behavior of microglia.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
She didn’t write notes about me on the lavatory walls, leave slimy things in my jacket pockets, or have her mother call up my mama and discuss my behavior.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
The hypothesis itself arose from observations of grandmothers’ behaviors in extant hunter-gatherer groups in the 1980s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
But romance is different from other trackable behaviors like sleep or flatulence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
In the process of learning from past behaviors, we sometimes villainize our former selves.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
Breaking the carcass into smaller portions would make it easier for a calf or juvenile to feed, which is consistent with other known orca behaviors.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026
Specific areas of the brain do control specific functions and behaviors, but it's not always as "logical" as we would imagine.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
