behoove

[bih-hoov](chiefly in impersonal use)

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verb (used with object), be·hooved, be·hoov·ing.

to be necessary or proper for, as for moral or ethical considerations; be incumbent on: It behooves the court to weigh evidence impartially.
to be worthwhile to, as for personal profit or advantage: It would behoove you to be nicer to those who could help you.

verb (used without object), be·hooved, be·hoov·ing.

Archaic. to be needful, proper, or due: Perseverance is a quality that behooves in a scholar.

Origin of behoove

before 900; Middle English behoven, Old English behōfian to need (behōf behoof + -ian infinitive suffix)

Synonyms for behoove

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2. benefit, advantage, serve, better, advance; suit, befit, beseem.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for behoove

befit, suit, beseem

Examples from the Web for behoove

Historical Examples of behoove

It will behoove France to see that her entrances are well guarded.
A Little Girl in Old Quebec
Amanda Millie Douglas
Under these circumstances, I think, it does not behoove us to be too severe.
A Little Traitor to the South
Cyrus Townsend Brady
But not another word about it: It does not behoove me to judge the past, for it does not belong to me.
Louisa Of Prussia and Her Times
Louise Muhlbach
It does not behoove the maestro to stand at the side of his pupil.
Louisa Of Prussia and Her Times
Louise Muhlbach
"It does not behoove me to advise my sagacious and prudent husband," she said.
Napoleon and the Queen of Prussia
L. Mhlbach,

Word Origin and History for behoove

Old English behofian "to have need of, have use for," verbal form of the ancient compound word represented by behoof.

Historically, it rimes with move, prove, but being now mainly a literary word, it is generally made to rime with rove, grove, by those who know it only in books. [OED]