behalf
Americanidioms
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in / on behalf of, as a representative of or a proxy for.
On behalf of my colleagues, I address you tonight.
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in / on someone's behalf, in the interest or aid of (someone).
He interceded in my behalf.
noun
Usage
On behalf of is sometimes wrongly used where on the part of is intended. The distinction is that on behalf of someone means `for someone's benefit' or `representing someone', while on the part of someone can be roughly paraphrased as `by someone'. So, the following example is incorrect: another act of apparent negligence, this time not on behalf of the company itself, but on behalf of its banker , when what was meant was there was negligence by the company's banker
Etymology
Origin of behalf
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English; Middle English bihalve, earlier as adverb and preposition with the sense “near(by),” originally, as prepositional phrase bi halve “on one side”; be-, by, half
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.
Huang said the AI industry had reached a decisive turning point driven by the rise of so-called agentic AI — systems that can take decisions and act autonomously on behalf of humans.
From Barron's
Although it has been widely alleged - by politicians, police and protesters - that organised groups and infiltrators acting on behalf of political interests helped drive the destruction, we have found no evidence to substantiate the claim.
From BBC
"May God grant him the peace that men denied him," he wrote on X on behalf of his family.
From BBC
Lawyers on behalf of the acting returning officer attended the hearing, but made no representations, and no other party was represented.
From BBC
In a statement, Nikolic previously told the Journal the July 2013 emails “were not written on my behalf or at my request.”
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.
