behove
/bɪˈhəʊv/
"behove" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“behove” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To befit, to suit.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | behove |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /bɪˈhəʊv/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “behove” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
behove is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /bɪˈhəʊv/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for behove, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: 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”), ultimately from Proto-Ind… The correct English form is behove, spelled B-E-H-O-V-E.
Definition
- 1To befit, to suit.
- 2To be necessary for (someone).
- 3To be in the best interest of; to benefit.
- 4To be needful, meet or becoming.
Etymology
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”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to grab, seize”). The word is cognate with Old Frisian bihōvia (“to need”), Middle Low German behôven (“to need”) and Old Saxon *bihōvōn, Dutch behoeven (“to need”), obsolete German behufen (cf. Behuf), Danish behøve (“to need”), Norwegian behøve (“to need”), Swedish behöva (“to have use for, to need”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “behove”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-E-H-O-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /bɪˈhəʊv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.