Definitions for behave
bɪˈheɪvbe·have

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:5.0 / 2 votes

1. act, behave, doverb

   behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself

   "You should act like an adult"; "Don't behave like a fool"; "What makes her do this way?"; "The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people"

2. behave, acquit, bear, deport, conduct, comport, carryverb

   behave in a certain manner

   "She carried herself well"; "he bore himself with dignity"; "They conducted themselves well during these difficult times"

3. behave, comportverb

   behave well or properly

   "The children must learn to behave"

WiktionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. behaveverb

   To conduct (oneself) well, or in a given way.

   You need to behave yourself, young lady.

2. behaveverb

   To act, conduct oneself in a specific manner;

3. behaveverb

   To conduct, manage, regulate (something).

4. behaveverb

   To act in a polite or proper way.

   His mother threatened to spank him if he didn't behave.

5. Etymology: From late behaven, equivalent to. Compare behabban, behaben.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. To Behaveverb

   Etymology: from be and have.

   1. To carry; to conduct: used almost always with the reciprocal pronoun.

   We behaved not ourselves disorderly among you. 2 Thessal. iii. 7.

   Manifest signs came from heaven, unto those that behaved themselves manfully. 2 Macc. ii. 21.

   To their wills wedded, to their errours slaves,
   No man, like them, they think, himself behaves. John Denham.

   We so live, and so act, as if we were secure of the final issue and event of things, however we may behave ourselves. Francis Atterbury.

   2. It seems formerly to have had the sense of, to govern; to subdue; to discipline: but this is not now used.

   But who his limbs with labours, and his mind
   Behaves with cares, cannot so easy miss. Fairy Queen, b. ii.

   With such sober and unnoted passion,
   He did behave his anger ere ’twas spent,
   As if he had but prov’d an argument. William Shakespeare, Timon.

2. To Behaveverb

   To act; to conduct one’s self. It is taken either in a good or a bad sense; as, he behaved well or ill.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Behaveverb

   to manage or govern in point of behavior; to discipline; to handle; to restrain

2. Behaveverb

   to carry; to conduct; to comport; to manage; to bear; -- used reflexively

3. Behaveverb

   to act; to conduct; to bear or carry one's self; as, to behave well or ill

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Behave

   be-hāv′, v.t. to bear or carry, to conduct (with self).—v.i. to conduct one's self, also to conduct one's self well: to act.—n. Behaviour (be-hāv′yür), conduct: manners or deportment, esp. good manners: general course of life: treatment of others.—To be upon one's behaviour, to be placed where one's best behaviour is politic or necessary. [Formed, according to Dr Murray, in 15th century from be- and Have; apparently unconnected with A.S. behabban.]

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. behave

   To act a specific way

   They do behave in a respectful and responsible way

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on February 11, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Act
   • Carry

British National Corpus

1. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'behave' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4163

2. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'behave' in Verbs Frequency: #530

How to pronounce behave?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say behave in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of behave in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of behave in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of behave in a Sentence

1. Chris Barron:

   Whenever the left wants to lampoon someone on the right President Trump always play the gay card. This is exactly what they think of gay people - that our lives and our relationships are jokes. Something deserving of ridicule and scorn, most middle school children behave better than this.

2. John Irving:

   The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. If you didn't behave that way you would never do anything.

3. John Legere:

   It's a bit dumbfounding to think that we've decided to go and build this network and go through this merger so that we can become the basic, lazy, fat, dumb and arrogant players that we were born to teach how to behave.

4. Pia Sundhage:

   Look at Formiga. We shouldn’t think it is over for them, no, the way they play, they way they behave in the group as human beings ... it is very encouraging. They can play many matches.

5. Rupert Sheldrake:

   In no other field of scientific endeavor do otherwise intelligent people feel free to make public claims based on prejudice and ignorance. Yet in relation to psychic phenomena, committed materialists feel free to disregard the evidence and behave irrationally and unscientifically, while claiming to speak in the name of science and reason. They abuse the authority of science and bring rationalism into disrepute.

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