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
Sula
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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:
The public ultimately expects journalists, scholars and elected officials to behave ethically.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
“The Treasury has invested decades that it would not behave opportunistically like this,” Crandall said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
Early in his career, he had developed an investment strategy based on the idea that there were patterns in markets, and that they didn’t behave completely randomly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The Daily Express says there is "outcry" over the guidebook having to explicitly give asylum seekers advice on how to behave towards women.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
The goats didn’t behave this well for anyone but Dyedka and Papa, because both of them used animal magic.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
Researchers at Rice University have found that extremely small wrinkles in graphene can alter how the material behaves electrically.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
Weights refer to calculations or rules governing how an AI system behaves.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
At times it behaves like a precocious child: headstrong and resistant to parental intervention.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Even a well-stocked farmers market rarely behaves like a supermarket organized around a recipe’s demands.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
"I can see right through your little plot, madam! And my answer is no! Matilda stays where she is and it is up to you to see that she behaves herself."
From "Matilda" by Roald Dahl
When a jerk mistreats us, it can help to have an understanding of why they’ve behaved like a jerk.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
The implication is always the same: If only young people behaved differently, the industry would be fine.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
The project took nearly six years, beginning with the discovery of the unusual steel and continuing through efforts to understand why it behaved this way at the atomic level.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
“He’s so unhappy with how he’s behaved through his life,” Root says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
“Your principal is suggesting a private school for your brother because of how you behaved today.”
From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya
When electrons are restricted to a two-dimensional plane and interact strongly enough, they can begin behaving very differently from ordinary electrons.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
A 63-year-old man has been found guilty of harassing the Labour MP for Walthamstow after preventing her from leaving a Tube carriage and behaving in an "abusive and aggressive" manner.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
In tests, AI models have been foiling attempts at constraining them and behaving in unforeseen ways.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Birds and other animals, bewildered by unforeseen night, start behaving strangely.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
We are Sinclairs, after all, and Sinclairs do not behave like I was behaving.
From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart
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.
