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befit

[bih-fit]
See more synonyms for befit on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), be·fit·ted, be·fit·ting.
  1. to be proper or appropriate for; suit; fit: His clothes befit the occasion.
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Origin of befit

late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; see origin at be-, fit1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for befit

do, behoove, serve, correspond, benefit, suit, go, become, agree, match, beseem

Examples from the Web for befit

Contemporary Examples of befit

Historical Examples of befit

  • Here be lilies in the cheeks, and not roses such as befit a bonny bride.

  • But, as he thought of it, there seemed to be a romance about such a step which would not befit him.

    Miss Mackenzie

    Anthony Trollope

  • You are our paid servant, and such a remark does not befit you.

    The Golden Face

    William Le Queux

  • But so much worldly education does not befit a woman or improve her.

  • Should a Senator be held to have lived as did not befit a Senator, a Censor could depose him.

    The Life of Cicero

    Anthony Trollope

British Dictionary definitions for befit

befit

verb -fits, -fitting or -fitted
  1. (tr) to be appropriate to or suitable for
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Derived Formsbefitting, adjectivebefittingly, adverb

Word Origin for befit

C15: from be- + fit 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for befit

v.

mid-15c., from be- + fit (v.). Related: Befitted; befitting.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper