Behest

//bɪˈhɛst// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A command, bidding; sometimes also, an authoritative request; now usually in the phrase at the behest of and at one's behest.

    "Moſt great and puiſant Monarke of the earth, Your Baſſoe wil accompliſh your beheſt: […]"

  2. 2
    an authoritative command or request wordnet
  3. 3
    A vow; a promise. obsolete

    "c. 1440, Markaryte Paston, letter to John Paston The time is come that I should send it her, if I keep the behest that I have made."

Verb
  1. 1
    To promise; vow. obsolete

Synonyms

All synonyms
biddingchargecommandcommandmentdecreedemand

Example

More examples

"He testified that the wire-tapping was carried out at the behest of his superiors."

Etymology

From Middle English biheste, from Old English behǣs (“vow, promise”), from Proto-West Germanic *bihaisi, from *bi- (“be-”) + *haisi (“command”), from Proto-Germanic *haisiz, from *haitaną (“to command”). Final -t by analogy with other similar words in -t. Related to Old English behātan (“to command, promise”), Middle Low German beheit, behēt (“a promise”). Compare also hest (“command”), hight.

Related phrases

behest loan

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.