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 British actor, who debuted in Game of Thrones aged 11 and uses they/them pronouns, says they had consciously decided not to behave like a stereotypical teenager after hearing criticisms from adults.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Some companies seem to agree, even though there are no regulations that directly address this issue, giving boards some discretion about how to behave.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
As much as we like to think that adults will behave responsibly, you run the risk of the tenant/landlord saying, “I lost $100.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Among them was the academy’s annual summer party, themed after 18th-century Georgian pleasure gardens — Britain’s oil-lamp-lit outdoor venues where aristocrats, the newly rich and everyday revelers gathered to see, be seen and behave badly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
“You must promise to behave well, and not cut up any pranks, and spoil our plans.”
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
Tweaking them later can vastly alter how a model behaves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Weights refer to calculations or rules governing how an AI system behaves.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
These small variations influence how the light behaves at the quantum level.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026
Even a well-stocked farmers market rarely behaves like a supermarket organized around a recipe’s demands.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
And yet, if ever I don’t like the way someone behaves, out he goes!
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Howe has high hopes for “The Body,” about badly behaved Catholic school girls who have prophetic visions after a dance team initiation goes awry.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 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
The teenager has been described as quiet and well behaved by family members in local media.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
It was unfair to the students who wanted to learn and were well behaved, and it was difficult to teach when nothing could be done to mitigate the disruptions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
He’s going to lecture me about how I behaved in group today.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
But the yen has also been behaving oddly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
The researchers concluded that these participants were not simply behaving more recklessly.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
Birds and other animals, bewildered by unforeseen night, start behaving strangely.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
Derbyshire says people can also contact police if they see anyone behaving in a dangerous way, such as lighting a bonfire that is likely to spread to a large area.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
But there’s no confusion when I read his eyes—he’s serious about Aunt J behaving.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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.
