Did you know?
Behest is an ancient word: it is almost a thousand years old. It was formed from the prefix be- and the verb hātan ("to command" or "to promise"), and its Old English ancestor was used exclusively in the sense of "promise," a now-obsolete meaning that continued on in Middle English especially in the phrase "the land of behest." The "command" meaning of behest is also ancient but it's still in good use, typically referring to an authoritative order. Behest is now also used with a less weighty meaning; it can refer to an urgent prompting, as in "a repeat performance at the behest of the troupe's fans."
Examples of behest in a Sentence
Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 20 Mar. 2025
Via executive order, Trump designated the gang a foreign terrorist organization and declared its foreign national members to be alien enemies of the United States acting at the behest of Venezuela’s regime.
—The Editors, National Review, 19 Mar. 2025
The changes have come at the behest of President Donald Trump, who has directed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to overhaul federal agencies and reduce bureaucratic inefficiencies and has pushed aggressive cost-cutting measures.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 18 Mar. 2025
Tal Schori and Rustam Mehta, childhood friends and founders of GRT Architects, first stepped foot inside them seven years ago at the behest of brother-sister clients, who purchased the residences as adjoining homes for their respective families.
—Sam Cochran, Architectural Digest, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for behest
Cite this Entry
“Behest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/behest. Accessed 29 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
behest
noun
Share