behoove
behoove Lexical Profile
behoove Game Scores & Validity
• verb
American To be advantageous, worthwhile, or appropriate for someone to do something (used with an impersonal 'it' as subject).
"It would behoove any aspiring researcher to master statistical software before beginning graduate studies."
American To be a duty, responsibility, or obligation for someone to do something (used with an impersonal 'it' as subject).
"Given the severity of the financial audit, it behooves the board of directors to review every transaction thoroughly."
Word Nuance & Usage
"Behoove" is an impersonal transitive verb almost always used in the third-person singular with a dummy "it" as the subject followed by a person and an infinitive clause (e.g., "It behooves you to listen"). In British English, it is spelled "behove" and rhymes with "rove," whereas the American spelling "behoove" rhymes with "move."
• Rhymes for behoove
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English behofian, meaning "to have need of" or "be necessary," derived from the prefix be- and the noun behof ("utility, profit, or need"), which shares a Germanic root with heave.