Word a Day
behoove
What does behoove mean?
behoove (verb): be appropriate or necessary.
Definition: Princeton WordNet 3.1.
How do you use behoove in a sentence?
- It behooves us to reflect on this matter. (Princeton WordNet 3.1)
How do you pronounce behoove?
/bɪˈhuv/ (IPA, American English). The app reads every word aloud.
Where does behoove come from?
From Middle English behoven, bihoven (“to be necessary, requisite; to be compelled or required (to do something)”), from Old English behōfian (“to need; to be necessary”), from Proto-Germanic *bihōfōną (“to benefit, behove, need”).
Etymology: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Test yourself: do you know “behoove”?
Tap an answer to check it. The same questions the app asks.
What does “behoove” mean?
to shine light on something
Not quite: that's what illuminate means.
be appropriate or necessary
Right! That's what “behoove” means.
impose something unpleasant
Not quite: that's what inflict means.
go back to a previous state
Not quite: that's what revert means.
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