befit

[bih-fit]

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verb (used with object), be·fit·ted, be·fit·ting.

to be proper or appropriate for; suit; fit: His clothes befit the occasion.

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. 2019

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

Arrogance and party political calculations with an eye to the next election do not befit the gravity of the moment.
Greece on the Brink of Financial Abyss as Syriza Party Weighs Default
John Psaropoulos
May 12, 2012

Historical Examples of befit

Here be lilies in the cheeks, and not roses such as befit a bonny bride.
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Howard Pyle
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.
A Little Girl in Old Philadelphia
Amanda Minnie Douglas
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

(tr) to be appropriate to or suitable for

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

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