What does bestow mean?
Definitions for bestow
bɪˈstoʊbe·stow
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word bestow.
Princeton's WordNet
confer, bestowverb
present
"The university conferred a degree on its most famous former student, who never graduated"; "bestow an honor on someone"
bestowverb
give as a gift
lend, impart, bestow, contribute, add, bringverb
bestow a quality on
"Her presence lends a certain cachet to the company"; "The music added a lot to the play"; "She brings a special atmosphere to our meetings"; "This adds a light note to the program"
Wiktionary
bestowverb
To lay up in store; deposit for safe keeping; stow; place.
bestowverb
To lodge, or find quarters for; provide with accommodation.
bestowverb
To dispose of.
bestowverb
To give; confer; impart gratuitously; present something to someone as a gift or honour.
Medals were bestowed on the winning team.
bestowverb
To give in marriage.
bestowverb
To apply; make use of; use; employ.
bestowverb
To behave or deport.
Etymology: From bestowen, bistowen, equivalent to.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
To BESTOWverb
Etymology: besteden, Dutch.
All men would willingly have yielded him praise; but his nature was such as to bestow it upon himself, before any could give it. Philip Sidney.
All the dedicate things of the house of the Lord did they bestow upon Baalim. 2 Chron. xxiv. 7.
Sir Julius Cæsar had, in his office, the disposition of the six clarks places; which he had bestowed to such persons as he thought fit. Edward Hyde.
Our Saviour doth plainly witness, that there should not be as much as a cup of cold water bestowed for his sake, without reward. Richard Hooker, b. ii. § 8.
And though he was unsatisfied in getting,
Which was a sin; yet in bestowing, madam,
He was most princely. William Shakespeare, Henry VIII.Spain to your gift alone her Indies owes;
For what the pow’rful takes not, he bestows. Dryden.You always exceed expectations: as if yours was not your own, but to bestow on wanting merit. John Dryden, Fables, Ded.
Good rev’rend father, make my person yours;
And tell me how you would bestow yourself. William Shakespeare.I could have bestowed her upon a fine gentleman, who extremely admired her. Tatler, №. 75.
Pure oil and incense on the fire they throw,
And fat of victims which his friends bestow. Dryden.The sea was not the duke of Marlborough’s element; otherwise the whole force of the war would infallibly have been bestowed there. Jonathan Swift.
And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, for sheep, or for wine. Deut. xiv. 26.
And when he came to the tower, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house. 2 Kings, v. 24.
ChatGPT
bestow
Bestow generally means to give or confer something, often in a formal or ceremonious manner. It can refer to presenting a gift, an honor, or a right to someone.
Webster Dictionary
Bestowverb
to lay up in store; to deposit for safe keeping; to stow; to place; to put
Bestowverb
to use; to apply; to devote, as time or strength in some occupation
Bestowverb
to expend, as money
Bestowverb
to give or confer; to impart; -- with on or upon
Bestowverb
to give in marriage
Bestowverb
to demean; to conduct; to behave; -- followed by a reflexive pronoun
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Bestow
be-stō′, v.t. to stow, place, or put by: to give or confer: to accommodate with quarters: to apply (with on and upon): (refl., Shak.) to acquit one's self.—ns. Bestow′al, act of bestowing: disposal; Bestow′er; Bestow′ment.
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of bestow in Chaldean Numerology is: 9
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of bestow in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3
Examples of bestow in a Sentence
The attempt to silence a man is the greatest honor you can bestow on him. It means that you recognize his superiority to yourself.
You (God) have not only commanded continence, that is, from what things we are to restrain our love, but also justice, that is, on what we are to bestow our love.
And since mothers bestow life, and women keep the world [together], let us all make greater efforts to promote mothers and to protect women.
Ensuring that children can regulate their emotions during stressful moments may be the single greatest legacy for mental health you can bestow upon them, the ability to remain connected and engaged during moments of disagreement or fear is by far the best buffering against aggressive tendencies.
He who receives a benefit should never forget it he who bestow should never remember it.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
Translations for bestow
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
Get even more translations for bestow »
Translation
Find a translation for the bestow definition in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Word of the Day
Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?
Citation
Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"bestow." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. Web. 3 Dec. 2023. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/bestow>.
Discuss these bestow definitions with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In