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View synonyms for behalf
behalf
[ bih-haf, -hahf ]
behalf
/ bɪˈhɑːf /
noun
- 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 )
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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
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Word History and Origins
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Word History and Origins
Origin of behalf1
Old English be halfe from be by + halfe side; compare Old Norse af halfu
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Idioms and Phrases
Idioms
- in / on behalf of, as a representative of or a proxy for:
On behalf of my colleagues, I address you tonight.
- 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 .Advertisement
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.
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