behove

American

[bih-hohv] / bɪˈhoʊv /

verb (used with or without object)

Chiefly British.

a variant of behoove.

behove British

/ bɪˈhuːv, bɪˈhəʊv /

verb

archaic (tr; impersonal) to be necessary or fitting for

it behoves me to arrest you

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of behove

Old English behōfian ; related to Middle Low German behōven

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.

It does not behove – behoove? – us to stoop to the level of feeding stories.

From The Guardian • Feb. 7, 2019

If privacy really does matter to the US public, it might behove the applicants to promise some kind of action against the rise of Big Brother Inc.

From Forbes • Apr. 15, 2015

It probably doesn't behove a rock critic to admit that his favourite radio show is something presented by Dale Winton on .

From The Guardian • May 5, 2010

I ascertained that they wished me to perform, and it behove me to comply, that I might avoid detection.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

If it turned out that this was so, what course would it behove her to pursue?

From The Maid of Honour (Vol. 3 of 3) A Tale of the Dark Days of France by Wingfield, Lewis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023