good behavior
Americannoun
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satisfactory, proper, or polite conduct.
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conduct conformable to law; orderly conduct.
The convict's sentence was reduced for good behavior.
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proper fulfillment of the duties of an office, especially a public office.
The incumbent could not be discharged during good behavior.
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.
Criteria for release eligibility included having served most of a sentence for a nonviolent crime and a record of good behavior, the Catholic Herald reported.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026
Those prisons provide a chance for recreation, education, interaction with other inmates, as well as the possibility of transferring to lower-security institutions as a reward for good behavior.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 11, 2025
State prisoners often end up serving less time because of credit for rehabilitative programs and good behavior, but the suggestion that Ortega-Anguiano could walk free riled Trump administration officials.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2025
Individual explanations might suggest that the problem can be solved with education campaigns to address gaps in knowledge, or with sanctions for "bad" behavior and rewards for "good" behavior.
From Salon • Mar. 15, 2025
Was it right, she questioned Kit, to bribe children into good behavior by these stories?
From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
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.
