behave
Americanverb (used without object)
-
behaves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
behaved,
past participle, past
-
behaving
present participle
-
to act in a particular way; conduct or comport oneself or itself.
The ship behaves well.
- Synonyms:
- perform
-
to act properly.
Did the child behave?
-
to act or react under given circumstances.
This plastic behaves strangely under extreme heat or cold.
verb (used with object)
-
behaves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
behaved,
past participle, past
-
behaving
present participle
verb
-
(intr) to act or function in a specified or usual way
-
to conduct (oneself) in a specified way
he behaved badly towards her
-
to conduct (oneself) properly or as desired
the child behaved himself all day
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
behavesimple
-
behavessimple
-
have behavedperfect
-
has behavedperfect
-
am behavingprogressive
-
are behavingprogressive
-
is behavingprogressive
-
have been behavingperfect progressive
-
has been behavingperfect progressive
Past
-
behavedsimple
-
had behavedperfect
-
was behavingprogressive
-
were behavingprogressive
-
had been behavingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of behave
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English behaven “to behave oneself”; equivalent to be- + have
Explanation
The way you act or conduct yourself is how you behave. Teachers and parents often tell kids Behave! If you follow rules and get along with others, you behave well, while if you are nasty and rude, you behave badly. Behave can suggest acting in a polite manner, as when you tell a child (or an adult) to behave in public. We usually behave differently in different situations — like when no one is watching. If you tell someone "practice what you preach" you are pointing out that the way they behave doesn't quite match up to their words.
Vocabulary lists containing behave
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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:
Lee’s film is motivated less by anger and more by curiosity, compassion and a general confusion, as no one quite knows how to behave or feel or just be.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
As concerts get more and more expensive, one live-music fan asks: When did we forget how to behave at shows?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Any situation involving many objects that collide while being pushed by an unpredictable force could behave in a similar way.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
As it grew older, however, it became clear that it did not behave like a house cat.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Consequently, in order to understand how Sapiens behave, we must describe the historical evolution of their actions.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
Imagine a relatively uneventful in which the Fed raises rates, explains its reasoning convincingly; Treasury yields settle; inflation expectations remain contained; the dollar behaves normally; and equities absorb the decision without disorder.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
In this version of the story, A.I. stops being a tool and acts as a being that behaves in accordance with its own worldview.
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026
OpenAI chief scientist Jakub Pachocki acknowledged there was still uncertainty about how a new model behaves once released.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
Eventually, checking the answer can itself become infeasible unless researchers make strong assumptions about how the quantum computer behaves internally.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
“That old sourpuss. You’d think the man had a very unhappy childhood with the way he behaves sometimes.”
From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone
In observational studies, which look back at how patients behaved naturally, it can be hard to separate whether the intervention or someone’s lifestyle is responsible for the benefits.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
"So far, I think Russia's behaved quite well, having to do with the Strait of Hormuz," he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
Even after experiencing stress both early in development and again as adults, mice with reduced SETD7 activity behaved much like unstressed animals.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
It was responsible for “alignment,” ensuring AI models behaved as intended and didn’t go rogue or destroy humanity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
He’s going to lecture me about how I behaved in group today.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
Indeed, oil is increasingly behaving like a macro risk for equities, rather than simply another indicator of economic growth.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
Leading computer scientist Professor dame Wendy Hall, who has advised the UN about AI, says the current crisis is all about the companies not behaving responsibly enough.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
That’s what “nuclear deterrence” is all about; the possession of nuclear weapons deters others from behaving aggressively.
From Slate ● Sep. 10, 2026
Wall Street was especially tuned to this report because Fed officials have grown sensitive to data suggesting the economy isn’t behaving as they expected.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
They were behaving just like the voters did in the 1920 presidential election when they took one look at Warren Harding, jumped to a conclusion, and stopped thinking.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
