behave
Americanverb (used without object)
-
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)
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
- unbehaving adjective
- well-behaved adjective
Etymology
Origin of behave
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English behaven “to behave oneself”; equivalent to be- + have
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.
Understanding how vesicles behave under normal conditions is key to identifying where communication begins to fail in neurological diseases, Watanabe says.
From Science Daily
Given the past week’s low trading volume, investors will be watching how the market behaves during the first week of December, when more traders will be back at their desks.
From MarketWatch
But can you and I say, with absolute certainty, that we would have felt differently or behaved with vastly greater integrity?
From Salon
Because photons behave according to quantum mechanics, their polarization cannot be measured without leaving detectable traces.
From Science Daily
‘I genuinely believed that women with power would behave differently.’
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.
