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.
To be sure, kids behave differently at formal dinners than they do in the wild, especially dinner at the mayor’s house.
This allowed them to test whether their ancient model behaved realistically when measured against present-day ocean systems.
From Science Daily
Of course, the effects of age are real, and follow familar patterns: A person is likely to behave differently at age 18 than at 36 or 72.
From Salon
Using CaBLAM, researchers can observe how a single neuron behaves inside a living animal, including activity within different parts of the cell.
From Science Daily
"It will be whether TikTok still feels the place the internet goes to experiment - or if it becomes the place it goes to behave."
From BBC
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.
