Showing Results for "behaviour"

See Also:

• a variation of behavior.

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

Derived 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

Explanation

Your behaviour is the way you act in various situations. Note that this word ends with "our," which is the British spelling, while the American English spelling is behavior. This discrepancy is common, and either spelling is correct. The Late Middle English word behavoure meant "to have possession," which seemingly refers to a person in control of his or her actions. If you are accused of childish behaviour, you might be acting as though you have little self-control. Scottish musician Shirley Manson once said: "A lot of celebrities just want money, fame, power, fancy cars, houses all over the world and have people bow down to them. To me, that's frightful behaviour."

Example Sentences

The orders were introduced as part of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026

He wrote The Human Zoo and Intimate Behaviour, in Malta, and then became fascinated by the expressive body language of the people of the Mediterranean.

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026

Their research was recently published in Nature Human Behaviour.

From Science Daily • Feb. 20, 2026

These would involve managers and staff from leading "Attendance and Behaviour Hub" schools visiting targeted schools and vice versa, so they can see effective methods "in action".

From BBC • Feb. 10, 2026

He wrote: “Distraction during the appearance of the stimulus is always punished with the prolongation of the process,” notes a biography published by the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour in the Netherlands.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel