behave

Pronunciation

• IPA ^(key): /bɪˈheɪv/ or /bəˈheɪv/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: be‧have

Verb

Plain form behave

Third-person singular behaves

Past tense behaved

Past participle behaved

Present participle behaving

1. How you behave is what you do or how you act.

   Why do you behave like that.

2. How something behaves is what it usually does.

   We want to know how fire behaves in space.

3. (informal) If you are behaving you are being good.

   I wish the children would behave.

   If you behave I will give you a reward.

Antonyms

• misbehave

Related words

• behavior