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
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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:
Ronaldo chose to play, asked his team-mates to behave as normal, and spent time in the dressing room doing ball tricks.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
Given the mix of participants, the document is blunt about how they should behave: "Check your assumptions by asking clarifying questions" and "attack problems, not people."
From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026
Eventually I figured out how to make them work, but it took research to learn the way other humans behave and think.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
However, researchers discovered that two experimental alloys made from niobium and titanium behave very differently.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026
“Now, you promise to behave yourself, or down you go, my friend,” Matthias shouted.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
Although spin is not literally an electron rotating like a tiny ball, it behaves in certain ways as though the electron has its own angular momentum.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026
The problem with endometriosis tissue is that it behaves exactly like the womb lining but it is trapped in the wrong place.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
A coyote that fails to exhibit fear toward humans or behaves aggressively should be reported to wildlife officials, authorities say.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have found evidence that arthritis triggered by certain cancer immunotherapies behaves like a disease driven by immune memory.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026
In college, then in graduate school, he behaves much as he always has.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
"Though the chatbots often made mistakes, they also behaved as sympathetic listeners to skeptical users -- while still refusing to endorse conspiracy theories," the center said.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
It is unclear yet from official data, which have a lag, how investors outside France have behaved during the recent volatility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
Another component behaved more like a brake on the cell's contractile machinery.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 5, 2026
Back in the castle, Ranganathan pointed out: "If somebody else had behaved like Richard, we wouldn't even be having a debate about this, you would just go 'you've got to vote for him'."
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Frank Churchill’s confession of having behaved shamefully was the first thing to call for more than a word in passing.
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
The filing lays out risks specific to an industry that has faced a string of reports in recent months of AI systems behaving in unexpected and harmful ways.
From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026
Some companies have banned agents from accessing their platforms and behaving in this way.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
Rather than behaving unpredictably, these delayed eruptions may be governed by a common physical threshold.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
For now, owners aren’t behaving like they are under pressure to sell.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
It’s disturbing to see him like this, behaving as though he might have emotions.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
