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:
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
Amundson and Zemian’s hopes that their behavior would warrant some leniency were quickly dashed.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Seth DuMouchel said that Carlos’ behavior demonstrates that she presents an ongoing danger to the community.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
Even though my immoral behavior was still a secret, Ma was right that our two families had something in common.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
But romance is different from other trackable behaviors like sleep or flatulence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
During the same period, personal environmental behaviors remained fairly stable.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026
That result suggests men may be especially vulnerable to the brain effects linked with these behaviors, although more research will be needed to understand why.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
Violence is shaped by social norms, power dynamics and the behaviors that institutions reward, tolerate or condemn.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
We exhibit photos and show a video of all sorts of chimpanzee behaviors, and there is a big section on the dangers of deforestation, overgrazing, and overpopulation.
From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall
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.
