Meaning & use
behoove
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Meaning
verbtransitiveAmerican
To be the sensible or proper thing for someone to do, because it will help them or is expected of them.
Grammar: Almost always with it as the subject: it behooves you to check first.
Patterns
- it behooves someone to do something
It behooves every driver to check the tires before a long trip.
It would behoove you to read the contract carefully.
It behooves leaders to listen as well as speak.
Word forms
| third person singular | behooves |
|---|---|
| past tense | behooved |
| past participle | behooved |
| -ing form | behooving |
Common combinations
- it behooves you to
- It behooves you to arrive early for the interview.
- it would behoove someone
- It would behoove the committee to act quickly.
- behoove us all
- It behooves us all to protect the environment.
- behoove the company
- It would behoove the company to update its software.
- well behoove
- It might well behoove them to prepare a backup plan.
Synonyms and how they differ
- be advisable
- Be advisable is plainer and focuses on being wise, while behoove adds a tone of duty or advantage.
- be wise
- Be wise is conversational, whereas behoove is formal and nearly always used with it.
- be incumbent on
- Incumbent on stresses a duty strongly and sounds more obligatory than behoove.
Word family
- behoof noun
- an old word for benefit or advantage
- behooving adjective
- rare word meaning fitting or proper
Commonly confused: behoove or behove? behoove or behave?
behoove vs behove
Behove is the British spelling of behoove, with the same meaning.
behoove vs behave
Behave means to act in a certain way, which is unrelated to what is advisable.
Practice
Which sentence uses behoove correctly?
Choose one answer.
Behoove is used in the pattern it behooves someone to do something. The other sentences treat it as an ordinary action verb, which it is not.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “behoove”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.