Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for behalf

behalf

[ bih-haf, -hahf ]



behalf

/ bɪˈhɑːf /

noun

  1. interest, part, benefit, or respect (only in the phrases on ( someone's ) behalf , on or US and Canadian in behalf of , in this ( or that ) behalf )


Discover More

Usage

On behalf of is sometimes wrongly used where on the part of is intended. The distinction is that on behalf of someone means `for someone's benefit' or `representing someone', while on the part of someone can be roughly paraphrased as `by someone'. So, the following example is incorrect: another act of apparent negligence, this time not on behalf of the company itself, but on behalf of its banker , when what was meant was there was negligence by the company's banker

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of behalf1

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English; Middle English bihalve, earlier as adverb and preposition with the sense “near(by),” originally, as prepositional phrase bi halve “on one side”; be-, by, half

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of behalf1

Old English be halfe from be by + halfe side; compare Old Norse af halfu

Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. in / on behalf of, as a representative of or a proxy for:

    On behalf of my colleagues, I address you tonight.

  2. in / on someone's behalf, in the interest or aid of (someone):

    He interceded in my behalf.

More idioms and phrases containing behalf

see in behalf of .

Discover More

Example Sentences

“Basically, I was contacted and asked if an appeal could be opened on my behalf,” she told me from her home in Providence.

Companies like Delta, Apple, and Nike flex their political muscle on behalf of gay rights.

Yet she spoke of his dignity in such an insane situation and when she touched on his pain she expressed her own on his behalf.

Please, Your Excellencies, consider my case with justice and intervene on my behalf.

He co-authored the amicus brief filed on behalf of 23 pro-life groups.

England proclaimed a rough indignation at the demand for Gibraltar, which Austria had made in behalf of Spain.

Before I'd gone five miles the hoodoo that had been working overtime on my behalf got busy again.

Above all else he did not want Winifred to know that solicitude in her behalf had drawn him from the path of duty.

He was indeed a faithful old servant; but he was quite ignorant of any memorial on his behalf having been sent to the Directors.

These misfortunes culminated in an appeal to his countrymen for subscriptions on his behalf in the musical papers.

Advertisement

Related Words

Word of the Day

tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

Meaning and examples

Start each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!

By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


be hadBehan