befit
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have befittedperfect
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has befittedperfect 3rd person singular
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is befittingprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been befittingperfect progressive
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are befittingprogressive
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has been befittingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
am befittingprogressive 1st person singular
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befitssingular 3rd person
-
befittingparticiple
Past
-
had befittedperfect
-
were befittingprogressive plural
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was befittingprogressive singular
-
had been befittingperfect progressive
-
befittedsimple
-
befittedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of befit
late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; see origin at be-, fit 1
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.
The glitzy Sphere suits Las Vegas; a new football arena along classical lines would befit Washington, which Frederick Douglass praised for “its lofty domes and stately pillars.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 20, 2026
Loose curls stand atop his head, messy enough to be neat, neat enough to befit a titan of industry.
From Slate • Oct. 30, 2024
Ralph Fiennes’ version befit a consummate actor who’d long cherished T.S.
From Los Angeles Times • May 25, 2023
Karamanlis said he had made “every effort” to improve a railway system that had been “in a state that doesn’t befit the 21st century.”
From Seattle Times • Feb. 28, 2023
He paused near me; then crossed the room, at which corner I could see him from my hiding place: a youth of my years, perhaps, dressed as might befit an apprentice at some trade.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
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.
