behaviour

American  

[bih-heyv-yer] / bɪˈheɪv yər /

noun

Chiefly British.

1. behavior.

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behaviour British  

/ bɪˈheɪvjə /

noun

1. manner of behaving or conducting oneself

2. behaving with careful good manners

3. psychol

   1. the aggregate of all the responses made by an organism in any situation

   2. a specific response of a certain organism to a specific stimulus or group of stimuli

4. the action, reaction, or functioning of a system, under normal or specified circumstances

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Spelling

See -or ¹.

Other Word Forms

• behavioural adjective

Etymology

Origin of behaviour

C15: from _behave ; influenced in form by Middle English havior , from Old French havoir , from Latin habēre to have

Example Sentences

In February 2025, concerns were raised over his behaviour with the children, specifically a group of five who the prosecution said he would "favour".

From BBC

Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said police had made 12 arrests, "including for showing support for a proscribed organisation, affray and for threatening or abusive behaviour".

From Barron's

"At no time has the behaviour been the same as this," Douglas said.

From Barron's

Human Rights Watch is one of the groups that raised those concerns and told the BBC it's the type of behaviour they've often observed of new leaders who want to show results quickly.

From BBC

"However, there is the general rule... that each government member must avoid a conflicting behaviour benefiting for instance their relatives," Havel added.

From Barron's